THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


f  •• 


MRS.     JOHN    CARTKR, 


Death    of    a    Noblo    Woman    of   DlsUn 
gulshed  Ancestry. 

The  sad  news  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Lltitla 
Shelby  Todd,  wife  of  tho  distinguished 
physician,  Dr.  Johu  Carter,  fell  like  a  knell 
yesterday  upon  the  hearts  of  many  warm 
and  loving  friends.  Mrs.  Carter  was  one  of 
those  rare  women  whose  very  presence  IB  a 
fragrance  and  benediction.  To  say  that 
she  was  beloved  and  respected  by  all  who 
cauie  within  the  circle  of  her  charmed 
friendship  would  be,  hut  a  leeble  tribute  to 
the  im-tnory  of  ouo  wlio  possessed  u,*.  warm 
a  heart  an  over  throbbud  within  H  human 
bosom,  and  felt  for  the  woo*  of  others,  and 
a  hand  "as  open  an  <lny  to  melting  charity." 

-Mrs.  Carter  laherited  to  a  great  dngree 
the  intellect  and  virtuous  principles  of  her 
distinguished  ancestors.  On  thy  ni.-iteriiril 
Bide  she,  was  the  granddaughter  of  General 
Isaac  Shelby,  t;io  lirst  governor  of  Ken- 
tucky. Her  father  wns  Colonel  Ch;u-i< 
Todd,  who  lilJed  with  distinction  tho  post 
of  minister  to  Kussia  under  President  Ty- 
lor.  She  w.-is  mutrlmonially  allied  to  a 
family  equally  noted,  having  married,  many 
years  ago,  Dr.  John  carter,  himself  a  gen- 
tleman of  high  character  and  attainments, 
and  a  deaceudont  oi  tho  best  VirKiuia  fam- 

UlM. 

For  many  yearo  the  Carter  family  has 
been  Mentlfled  with  Louisiana,  the  dauarh- 
i-innnit:  tlio  ).->n.a>:o  r.i  all  hearts  by 
iluMr  womauly  beauty  and  uraotis;  the  sons 
claiming  tiieir  rneed  at*  worthy  suions  of  an 
honored  numo. 

la  all  the  relations  of  life  Mrs.  Carter 
m  e.xi-timlittoalloii  of  thi;  ideal  woman. 
In  the  hijrli  circles  in  which  she  moved  as  a 
loader  she  was  kind,  gracious,  intelligent. 
charitable  in  spirit  and  true  to  her  friend';; 
a*  a  -wife  she  united  the  gentleness  and 
grace  ot  Koliccca  with  the  wisdom.of  Sarah; 
a«  a  mother  she  was  ttio  type  of  all  that 
was  holy  and  true,  and  over  her  grave  her 
children  will  rise  and  "call  her  blessed." 

From  that  homo  once  so  happy  the  angel 
guide  has  gone,  but  her  pure  spirit  will 
bover  above  her  ioved  ones,  and  her  pret»- 
willever  ho  felt  as  an  unseen  hut 
heavenly  comfort,  sustaining  them  in  tlieir 
sorrows  and  whispering  the  hope  and  cou- 
Rolation  that  human  language  cannot  Kivo 
to  the  hearts  whose  strongest  ohord  has 
been  severed.  Mrs.  Carter,  besides  her  hus- 
band, is  survived  by  four  children,  Mrs. 
Peyton  Richards,  nee  Florence  Carter;  Mlns 
Jennie  Carter,  Mr.  Charles  X.  Carter  and 
Mr.  Thou.  T.  Carter. 

The  funeral  will  take  place  this  afternoon 
from  the  late  residence  of  tho  deceased,  cor- 
ner of  Camp  and  Second  streets,  at  4:30 
o'clock.  Tito  interment  will  take  place  in 
Washington  cemetery. 

To  the  bereaved  fa'ntly  the  sympathy  of 
a  host  of  friends  is  extended. 


-' 
tt—    U] 


o 


BIOGRAPHY 


OF 


COLONEL  CHARLES  S.  TODD. 


MEMOIR 


OF 


COL  CHAS.  S.  TODD. 


BY 

G.  W.  GRIFFIN, 

V.  S.  CONSUL  AT  COPENHAGEN, 

AUTHOR  OF  "STUDIES  IN  LITERATURE,"  ETC.,  EIC. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
CLAXTON,  REMSEN  &  HAFFELFINGER. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  by 

CLAXTON,  REMSEN  &  HAFFELFINGER, 
f  r  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 

STEREOTYPED  BY  J.  PAGAN  4  SON,  PHILADELPHIA. 


PRINTEn    BY    MOORE    BROTHERS, 

Franklin  Buildinpg,  Sixth  St.,  below  Arch, 

Philadelphia. 


ac 

03 


TO 

THE  HON.  JOHN  SCOTT  HARRISON 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  DEDICATED,  AT  THE 
EXPRESSED  WISH  OF  HIS  FATHER'S 
EARLY  FRIEND,  WHOSE  LIFE 
AND  HISTORY  ARE  RE- 
CORDED IN  IT. 


'-U 


461508 


IN  the  publication  of  this  volume,  I  can  but  feel  that 
the  people  of  Kentucky,  and  of  the  West,  will  take 
some  degree  of  interest  in  the  perusal  of  a  work  devoted 
to  the  life  and  public  services  of  one  who  played  such  a 
prominent  part  in  the  history  of  the  times  in  which  he 
lived. 

Since  this  volume  was  ready  for  the  press,  I  found, 
among  some  papers  left  at  my  disposal  by  Colonel  Todd 
a  short  time  before  his  death,  a  manuscript  copy  of  a 
lecture  he  delivered  in  1849,  at  Frankfort,  Ky.,  on  "  Russia, 
her  Resources,  Religion,  Literature,  &c."  Colonel  Todd's 
residence  in  Russia,  in  the  capacity  of  United  States 
Minister  to  that  country,  his  fine  classical  education  and 
taste  in  literature,  gave  him  many  advantages  for  the 
investigation  of  the  history  and  resources  of  that  semi- 
barbarous  nation  about  which  so  little  is  known  even  to 
this  day.  I  have,  for  these  reasons,  thought  best  to  print 
the  lecture  entire  in  this  memoir. 

I  have  also  embraced  in  this  work,  to  the  exclusion  of 
much  matter  of  my  own,  a  number  of  Colonel  Todd's 
speeches  and  state  papers;  and  also  some  extended  ex- 
tracts from  a  work  entitled  "  Sketches  of  the  Civil  and 


PREFACE. 

Military  Services  of  William  Henry  Harrison,"  by  Colonel 
Todd  and  Mr.  Benjamin  Drake.  This  book  is  now  out 
of  print ;  but  it  had  in  its  day  a  very  large  sale.  It  was 
published  by  G.  P.  James,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  in  1840. 
More  than  twenty  thousand  copies  were  sold,  and  as 
many  more  were  distributed,  in  pamphlet  form,  through- 
out the  country  as  a  campaign  document. 

Colonel  Todd,  on  one  occasion,  pointed  out  to  me  such 
passages  of  the  book  as  were  written  by  himself,  and 
those  written  by  Mr.  Drake. 

Colonel  Todd,  as  many  of  my  readers  doubtless  know, 
bore  a  very  prominent  part  in  the  election  of  Harrison, 
which  was  perhaps  the  most  exciting  Presidential  canvass 
in  the  history  of  the  country. 

Many  a  story  have  I  heard,  when  a  boy,  from  the  lips 
of  my  dear  and  venerated  grandfather,  of  that  interesting 
epoch,  so  familiarly  known  as  the  Log  Cabin  or  Hard 
Cider  Campaign.  My  grandfather  was  a  very  zealous 
Democrat,  and  he  used  to  tell  me  how  much  the  enthu- 
siasm of  the  Whigs  annoyed  him  at  that  time.  "  For  once, 
and  only  once,"  he  said,  "  in  the  history  of  our  country,  did 
the  Whig  speeches,  and  barbecues,  and  banners,  and  trans- 
parencies, and  cannon,  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the 
Untefrified." 

I  remember  his  telling  me,  on  one  occasion,  of  some 
of  the  most  enthusiastic  Harrison  men  carrying,  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  parade  through  the  streets  of  Louisville, 
an  immense  log  cabin  on  their  shoulders,  the  weight  of 
which  would  have  been  enough  to  crush  them  to  death, 
had  it  not  been  for  their  enthusiasm  and  the  shouts  of 
thousands  of  people  enlivening  their  march. 

In  one  of  these  parades,  Jim  Porter,  the  great  Kentucky 


PREFACE.  IX 

giant,  who  was  by  far  the  tallest  man  in  all  the  world, 
appeared,  wearing  a  large  coon-skin  cap,  and  dressed  in 
a  hunter's  uniform  made  of  deer-skin  and  trimmed  with 
bright-colored  fringe.  He  swung  his  great  rifle,  which  was 
over  eight  feet  long,  across  his  huge  shoulders,  and  excited 
the  utmost  delight  and  astonishment  wherever  he  went. 

Some  years  afterward,  I  went  to  see  the  great  giant  at 
Shippingport,  a  little  town  a  few  miles  below  Louisville, 
where  he  then  resided.  I  expressed  to  him  my  deep  regret 
at  not  having  been  able  to  see  him  in  that  famous  parade, 
when  he  very  kindly  opened  a  wardrobe,  and  donned  his 
coon  -  skin  cap  and  gay  uniform  -  coat.  He  presented  a 
magnificent  picture  to  my  boyish  sight,  before  which  all 
my  wildest  dreams  about  giants  paled  into  utter  insigni- 
ficance, and  even  to-day  I  think  of  that  interview  with  no 
ordinary  satisfaction  and  delight.  "Those  were  great 
times,"  said  the  giant,  "  that  we  had  in  the  Hard  -  Cider 
Campaign.  We  shall  not  see  the  like  again."  And  in- 
deed, judging  from  all  that  I  have  heard  in  regard  to  that 
memorable  canvass,  few,  I  think,  will  be  inclined  to  dis- 
agree with  him. 

I  could  relate  many  such  incidents,  interesting  enough, 
doubtless,  in  their  way ;  but  I  have  preferred  to  give  in  the 
following  pages  the  more  solid  facts  of  history,  and  I  have 
given  them  as  well  as  I  could. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

The  Author's  first  Acquaintance  with  Colonel  Todd  —  Characteristics  of 
Colonel  Todd  as  a  Writer  and  a  Man 13 

CHAPTER  II. 

/ 

Birth  and  Parentage  of  Colonel  Todd  —  Sketch  of  his  Father,  Judge 
Thomas  Todd  —  Education  of  Young  Todd 16 

CHAPTER  III. 

War  of  1812  —  Young  Todd  volunteers  and  is  rapidly  Promoted  —  His 
Gallantry  —  Battle  of  the  Thames —  McArthur's  Expedition — Todd's 
Distinguished  Services 21 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Colonel  Todd  resumes  the  Practice  of  the  Law  at  Frankfort  —  Becomes 
interested  in  Masonry — His  Address  before  Mt.  Horan  Lodge — He 
is  married  to  Miss  Shelby 28 

CHAPTER  V. 

Colonel  Todd  is  appointed  Secretary  of  State  —  His  Election  to  the 
Legislature  over  Judge  Marshall  and  Judge  Bibb  —  His  Re-election 
over  General  Hardin  —  Is  appointed  Minister  to  Bogota  —  His  Dis- 
charge of  his  Mission  approved  by  John  Q.  Adams — He  returns  to  the 
United  States,  and  settles  on  a  Farm  in  Shelby  County.  Kentucky  —  His 
Intelligence  and  Enterprise  as  a  Farmer —  His  Services  to  Agriculture  35 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Harrison  Campaign  —  Colonel  Todd  one  of  its  Master-Spirits  — 
He  removes  to  Cincinnati,  and  takes  Charge  of  the  Cincinnati 
Republican — He  speaks  as  well  as  writes  —  He,  in  Conjunction 
with  Benjamin  Drake,  prepares  a  Life  of  General  Harrison  —  Ex- 
tracts from  this  Work  —  Incidents  of  the  Campaign 45 

CHAPTER  VII. 

General  Harrison  expresses  his  Gratitude  for  Colonel  Todd's  Services  — 
His  Appointment  as  Minister  to  Russia — Success  of  His  Mission  — 
Felicitous  Speech  of  Colonel  Todd  at  a  Banquet  in  St.  Petersburg  — 
Motley  and  Maxwell  in  his  Official  Family  — Colonel  Todd's  Visit  to 
the  Interior  of  Russia  —  Important  Despatches 78 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

PACK 

Colonel  Todd  returns  to  Frankfort  —  Delivers  a  Lecture  on  Russia  — 
Withdraws  from  a  Contest  for  the  Governorship  of  Kentucky  —  Ac- 
cepts the  Office  of  Commissioner  under  the  Mexican  Treaty  —  Ad- 
vocates a  Railroad  to  the  Pacific 90 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Colonel  Todd  prepares  a  Series  of  Articles  on  Texas  —  Letter  from 
Daniel  Webster  to  Colonel  Todd  —  Colonel  Todd  prepares  a  Sketch  of 
Tecumseh  for  the  Louisville  Journal —  He  proposes  to  write  the  Early 
History  of  Kentucky  —  An  Incident  in  the  College  Life  of  Colonel 
Todd  —  His  Confidential  Report  to  the  War  Department  in  1815 122 

CHAPTER  X. 

Colonel  Todd  takes  an  Active  Part  in  the  Taylor  Campaign  —  His 
Characteristics  as  a  Popular  Orator — His  Opinions  of  Jefferson  and 
Jackson — His  Acquaintance  with  the  Presidents — His  Admiration 
of  Madison — His  Accomplishments  as  a  Man  of  the  World  —  His 
Moral  Characteristics  —  Anecdote  of  Bernadotte,  King  of  Sweden 127 

CHAPTER  XL 

Colonel  Todd's  Embarrassed  Fortunes  —  His  Personal  Resemblance  to 
Louis  Philippe  —  Anecdote  of  that  Monarch  —  Colonel  Todd's  Zeal 
for  the  Preservation  of  the  Union  —  His  Claim  to  a  High  Military  Ap- 
pointment in  the  Civil  War  acknowledged  but  not  discharged  —  Evil 
Effects  of  Conferring  Military  Appointments  on  Civiliaas — Colonel 
Todd's  Military  Talents  —  He  severs  his  Connection  with  the  Gazette...  133 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Colonel  Todd's  Friendship  for  the  Author — His  Opinion  of  Act9rs  and 
Acting  —  His  Exalted  Estimate  of  the  Character  of  Dr.  Theodore  S. 
Bell  —  A  Letter  to  the  Author  —  Colonel  Todd's  Address  before  the 
Perry  Monument  Association  —  Friendship  between  Colonel  Todd  and 
the  Hon.  J.  Scott  Harrison 137 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Letter  from  the  Hon.  William  C.  Rives  to  Colonel  Todd  —  Colonel  Todd 
prepares  several  Articles  for  Dr.  Sprague's  "  National  Portrait  Gallery  " 
—  Dr.  Sprague's  Acknowledgments  —  Governor  Shelby's  Pride  in 
Colonel  Todd  —  Colonel  Todd's  Last  Illness — His  Death 143 

APPENDIX. 

Correspondence  of  Colonel  Todd  with  the  Colombian  General  San- 
tander — Memoir  of  Governor  Shelby 147 


BIOGRAPHY 

OF 

COLONEL  CHARLES  S.TODD. 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  Author's  first  Acquaintance  with  Colonel  Todd  —  Characteristics  of 
Colonel  Todd  as  a  Writer  and  a  Man. 

I  DID  not  become  personally  acquainted  with  the 
distinguished  soldier  and  statesman  who  forms 
the  subject  of  this  memoir  until  the  spring  of  1867. 
We  had,  however,  been  associated  some  time  pre- 
viously in  the  editorial  management  of  the  Louisville 
Industrial  and  Commercial  Gazette.  At  that  time  he 
resided  in  Owensboro,  Kentucky,  where  he  prepared 
no  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  editorial  matter  for 
the  paper.  He  was  a  quick  and  fluent  writer,  and 
almost  every  mail  was  sure  to  bring  something  from 
his  pen.  I  was  forcibly  struck  by  the  readiness  with 
which  he  comprehended  all  the  plans  of  the  paper, 
and  by  the  spirit  and  determination  with  which  he 
entered  into  them.  It  seemed  that  the  slightest  hint 
from  the  publisher  that  an  article  was  desired  upon 
any  subject  was  all  that  was  necessary  to  have  him 
produce  it  in  the  most  complete  and  satisfactory 

13 


14          BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

manner.  He  displayed  a  knowledge  of  every  sub- 
ject upon  which  he  wrote  that  was  really  extraordi- 
nary. He  seemed  to  have  a  high  and  a  noble  purpose 
in  everything  that  he  undertook.  He  had  been  all 
his  life  a  very  active  and  energetic  man.  He  was  a 
highly  accomplished  classical  scholar.  He  scorned 
to  make  a  show  of  knowledge  which  he  did  not  pos- 
sess. He  was  a  thorough  hater  of  all  shams  and 

O 

conceits.  All  the  best  attributes  of  humanity  were 
centred  in  him.  There  was  not  a  particle  of  selfish- 
ness in  his  nature.  There  was  no  ostentation  about 
him.  He  possessed  dignity  without  haughtiness,  and 
a  courage  which  no  mortal  man  could  overcome.  He 
was  of  a  very  kind  disposition.  He  seemed  to  have 
lived  always  in  an  interchange  of  the  gentlest  offices. 
He  never  allowed  trifles  to  fret  and  annoy  him.  He 
was  in  every  respect  a  perfect  model  of  a  Christian 
gentleman.  He  could  not  do  a  mean  or  a  little  act 
No  weeds  of  bitterness  ever  grew  in  his  manly 
bosom.  He  was  a  good  man,  a  true  man,  and  a 
brave  man.  I  shall  never  forget  the  first  time  I  saw 
him.  I  was  busy  one  morning  writing  at  my  desk 
upon  a  subject  that  I  knew  very  little  about.  I  could 
not  write  a  single  line  that  seemed  to  me  to  have  any 
sense  in  it.  My  poor  brain  was  taxed  almost  beyond 
endurance,  and  I  was  about  to  give  up  in  despair, 
when  I  happened  to  cast  my  eyes  toward  the  door, 
and  saw  a  fine-looking,  elderly  gentleman,  with  the 
kindliest  face  in  the  world,  advancing-  toward  me. 

o 

He  seemed  to  understand,  as  if  by  intuition,  the 
nature  of  my  trouble,  and  I  immediately  rose  to 
speak  to  him  and  tell  him  my  name  and  ask  his  in 
return.  He  did  not  give  me  an  opportunity,  but 


BIOGRAPHY    OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          I  5 

took  me  by  both  hands,  and  said,  "  If  I  judge  cor- 
rectly, you  are  my  editorial  associate."  I  bowed  an 
assent,  when  he  said,  "  I  have  often  helped  you  be- 
fore, my  young  friend,  and  I  beg  the  pleasure  of  be- 
ing allowed  to  do  so  again."  He  immediately  sat 
down  at  my  desk,  and,  after  looking  at  my  article, 
which  was  entitled,  "  The  Duty  of  the  Government  to 
repair  the  Levees  of  the  Mississippi,"  he  smiled 
pleasantly,  tore  off  the  heading  and  pasted  it  on 
another  slip  of  paper,  and  wrote,  in  about  ten  or 
fifteen  minutes,  one  of  the  best  articles  ever  written 
upon  this  subject.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  me 
to  say  that  I  was  grateful  for  the  kindness  of  my  ben- 
efactor, and  tried  to  make  known  to  him  my  grati- 
tude in  the  best  way  I  could.  He  rose  from  his  seat, 
and,  again  taking  me  by  both  hands,  said,  "  It  is  in 
our  power  to  be  of  much  help  to  one  another.  You 
have  youth,  and  I  experience,  which,  perhaps,  next 
to  an  unsullied  conscience,  is  the  most  valuable  thing 
in  this  life."  He  did  not  part  from  me  without  giv- 
ing me  a  very  cordial  invitation  to  visit  him  at  the 
residence  of  his  son,  Mr.  Isaac  Shelby  Todd,  where 
he  said  he  would  remain  for  several  weeks,  and 
would  expect  me  every  day  until  I  called. 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  one  of  the  most  charm- 
ing acquaintances  of  my  life,  and  I  record  with  no 
little  satisfaction  that  from  that  time  up  to  the  day 
of  his  death  the  warmest  feelings  of  personal  friend- 
ship existed  between  us. 

When  he  died  I  lost  one  of  the  best  and  truest 
friends  I  ever  had.  I  shall  not  see  his  like  again  in 
this  world,  but  the  memory  of  his  love  and  unremit- 
ting kindness  will  ever  be  to  me  a  pleasure  inesti- 


I  6         BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

mable.  In  endeavoring  to  give  some  account  of  his 
life  and  public  services,  I  shall  not  attempt  anything 
like  a  panegyric  or  eulogy  upon  his  character,  but 
will  try  to  relate  faithfully  and  conscientiously  some 
important  incidents  in  the  history  of  Kentucky  and 
of  the  nation,  and  to  describe,  in  a  plain,  truthful,  and 
straightforward  manner,  the  characteristics  of  a  man 
who  for  more  than  half  a  century  was  felt  to  be  a 
power  in  the  land,  and  who  was  loved,  honored,  and 
respected  by  all  who  knew  him. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Birth  and  Parentage  of  Colonel  Todd  —  Sketch  of  his  Father,  Judge  Thomas 
Todd  —  Education  of  Young  Todd. 

CHARLES  STEWART  TODD  was  born  on 
the  22d  of  January,  1791,  between  Danville 
and  Stanford,  Kentucky,  in  the  old  county  of  Lincoln. 
At  the  time  of  his  birth,  the  State  was  not  a  member 
of  the  confederacy.  It  was  in  what  is  called  the 
transition  period,  but  was  passing  rapidly  from  the 
pioneer  stage  to  the  dignity  of  an  established  and 
well-regulated  commonwealth.  The  Hon.  Thomas 
Todd,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
one  of  the  most  eminent  men  in  the  nation.  He 
immigrated  to  Kentucky  from  Virginia  when  about 
twenty  years  of  age.  He  chose  the  profession  of  the 
law,  and  devoted  himself  so  earnestly  to  its  duties 
that  he  soon  became  known  as  one  of  the  ablest 
lawyers  in  the  Western  country.  The  honors  of  his 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          I  J 

profession  came  thick  and  rapidly  upon  him.  His 
counsel  was  sought  not  only  at  home  but  abroad. 
He  rose  to  the  position  of  chief  justice,  the  highest 
judicial  office  of  the  State.  It  is  said  that  his  means 
were  so  limited  that  he  studied  his  profession  by 
fire-light. 

Some  idea  of  his  ability  can  be  formed  from  the 
marvellous  facility  with  which  he  comprehended  the 
difficulties  of  the  celebrated  Land  Law  of  Virginia 
of  1779.  In  the  passage  of  this  law,  the  legislative 
authorities  neglected  to  provide  for  a  general  survey 
of  the'  State,  but  authorized  every  owner  of  a  land- 
warrant  to  make  his  own  entry  and  survey.  The 
owner,  of  course,  located  his  land-warrant  wherever 
he  chose,  but  was  required  to  do  so  in  such  a  way 
that  a  subsequent  locater  could  enter  the  adjoin- 
ing land.  The  system  of  registration  under  no  cir- 
cumstances could  have  been  more  defective.  It  was 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  a  title  could  be  estab- 
lished at  all.  As  a  natural  consequence,  intermi- 
nable disputes  and  litigation  followed. 

The  ingenuity  and  talent  of  the  greatest  lawyers 
in  America  were  called  into  requisition.  No  one, 
however,  achieved  a  greater  reputation  in  the  ad- 
justment of  these  perplexing  difficulties  than  Judge 
Todd.  His  success  was  such  that  President  Jeffer- 
son, in  1807,  called  him  to  a  seat  on  the  Supreme 
Federal  Bench.  He  held  this  position  until  his 
death.  His  friend  and  associate,  Justice  Story,  pro- 
nounced the  following  tribute  to  his  memory :  "  Mr. 
Justice  Todd  possessed  many  qualities  admirably 
fitted  for  the  proper  discharge  of  judicial  functions. 
He  had  uncommon  patience  and  candor  in  investi- 
3 


1 8         BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

Cation  ;  great  clearness  and  sagacity  of  judgment ;  a 
cautious  but  steady  energy  ;  a  well-balanced  indepen- 
dence ;  a  just  respect  for  authority,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  an  unflinching  adherence  to  his  own  deliberate 
opinions  of  the  law.  His  modesty  imparted  a  grace 
to  an  integrity  and  singleness  of  heart  which  won 
for  him  the  general  confidence  of  all  who  knew  him. 
He  was  not  ambitious  of  innovations  upon  the  set- 
tled principles  of  the  law,  but  was  content  with  the 
more  unostentatious  character  of  walking  in  the 
trodden  paths  of  jurisprudence  -  -  '  super  antiquas 
vias  legis!  From  his  diffident  and  retiring  habits,  it 
required  a  long  acquaintance  with  him  justly  to  ap- 
preciate his  judicial  as  well  as  his  personal  merits. 
His  learning  was  of  a  useful  and  solid  cast ;  not, 
perhaps,  as  various  or  as  comprehensive  as  that  of 
some  men,  but  accurate  and  transparent,  and  appli- 
cable to  the  daily  purposes  of  the  business  of  human 
life.  In  his  knowledge  of  the  local  law  of  Kentucky 
he  was  excelled  by  few,  and  his  brethren  drew 
largely  upon  his  resources  to  administer  that  law,  in 
the  numerous  cases  which  then  crowded  the  docket 
of  the  Supreme  Court  from  that  judicial  circuit ;  what 
he  did  not  know  he  never  affected  to  possess,  but 
sedulously  sought  to  acquire.  He  was  content  to 
learn  without  assuming  to  dogmatize.  Hence  he 
listened  to  an  argument  for  the  purpose  of  instruc- 
tion and  securing  examination,  and  not  merely  for 
that  of  confutation  or  debate.  Among  his  associates 
he  enjoyed  an  enviable  respect,  which  was  constantly 
increasing  as  he  became  more  familiarly  known  to 
them.  His  death  was  deemed  by  them  a  great 
public  calamity,  and  in  the  memory  of  those  who 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.          1 9 

survive  him  his  name  has  ever  been  cherished  with 
a  warm  and  affectionate  remembrance.  No  man 
ever  clung  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
with  a  more  strong  and  resolute  attachment.  And 
in  the  grave  cases  which  were  agitated  in  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States  during  his  judicial 
life,  he  steadfastly  supported  the  constitutional  doc- 
trines which  Mr.  Chief  Justice  Marshall  promulgated 
in  the  name  of  the  Court.  It  is  to  his  honor,  and  it 
should  be  spoken,  that,  though  bred  in  a  different 
political  school  from  that  of  the  Chief  Justice,  he 
never  failed  to  sustain  those  great  principles  of  con- 
stitutional law  on  which  the  security  of  the  Union  de- 
pends. He  never  gave  up  to  party  what  he  thought 
belonged  to  the  country.  For  some  years  before  his 
death  he  was  sensible  that  his  health  was  declining, 
and  that  he  might  soon  leave  the  bench,  to  whose 
true  honor  and  support  he  had  been  so  long  and 
zealously  devoted.  To  one  of  his  brethren,  who  had 
the  satisfaction  of  possessing  his  unreserved  confi- 
dence, he  often  communicated  his  earnest  hope  that 
Mr.  Justice  Trimble  might  be  his  successor,  and  he 
bore  a  willing  testimony  to  the  extraordinary  ability 
of  that  eminent  judge.  It  affords  a  striking  proof  of 
his  sagacity  and  foresight ;  and  the  event  fully  justi- 
fied the  wisdom  of  his  choice.  Although  Mr.  Justice 
Trimble  occupied  his  station  on  the  bench  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  for  a  brief  period  only,  yet  he  has  left 
on  the  records  of  the  Court  enduring  monuments  of 
talents  and  learning  fully  adequate  to  all  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  judicial  office.  To  both  of  these  distin- 
guished men,  under  such  circumstances,  we  may  well 
apply  the  touching  panegyric  of  the  poet: 


2O         BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

'  Fortunati  ambo ; 
Nulla  dies  unquam  memori  vos  eximet  avo."  ' 

Judge  Todd  gave  every  attention  to  the  education 
of  his  son.  He  encouraged  him  to  cultivate  a  taste 
not  only  for  the  classics  but  for  almost  every  species 
of  knowledge. 

Young  Todd  was  placed  at  an  early  age  at  the 
Transylvania  Seminary  at  Lexington,  Kentucky,  for 
the  purpose  of  preparing  for  a  more  thorough  course 
of  study  at  the  celebrated  college  of  William  and 
Mary  in  Virginia.  He  graduated  at  this  last-named 
institution  of  learning  in  1809. 

About  a  year  afterward  he  went  to  Litchfield, 
Conn.,  to  attend  a  course  of  law  lectures  by  Judges 
Reeves  and  Gould.  At  Litchfield  he  pursued  his 
studies  with  the  utmost  energy.  He  was  licensed  to 
practise  law  in  1811,  and  opened  an  office  in  the 
following  year  at  Lexington,  Ky. ;  but  at  that  time 
the  second  war  with  Great  Britain  broke  out,  and 
he  determined  to  take  part  in  the  contest. 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.          21 


CHAPTER  III. 

War  of  1812  —  Young  Todd  volunteers  and  is  rapidly  Promoted  —  His 
(Jallantry —  Battle  of  the  Thames  —  Me  Arthur's  Expedition  —  Todd's 
distinguished  Services. 

"  I  ^HE  spirit  of  war  was  nowhere  more  brilliantly 

±_     illustrated    than    in    Kentucky.      The    whole 

State,  from   the   Big  Sandy  to  the   Mississippi,  was 

alive,  as  it  were,  with  restless  energy  and  activity. 

In  the  mean  time  Hull's  surrender  was  announced. 
It  served  only  to  add  fuel  to  the  flame.  Hull  was 
at  once  proclaimed  a  traitor.  No  language  was  suf- 
ficiently strong  to  express  the  detestation  in  which 
he  was  held.  The  Kentucky  troops  were  impatient 
to  be  led  to  the  scene  of  action,  but  they  moved 
amid  the  most  distressing  circumstances.  They 
were  indifferently  armed  and  wretchedly  clothed. 
They  suffered  privations  almost  unheard  of.  The 
country  to  be  crossed  was  but  a  succession  of 
swamps  and  marshes.  The  Secretary  of  War  was 
unable  to  supply  means  of  transportation.  Notwith- 
standing these  obstacles,  the  ardor  and  enthusiasm 
of  the  volunteers  remained  unabated. 

William  Henry  Harrison,  on  whom  the  President 
had  conferred  the  rank  of  Major-General,  assumed 
command  of  the  forces  in  the  West.  Harrison  was 
an  especial  favorite  with  the  Kentucky  troops,  and 
his  appointment  served  to  increase  their  enthusiasm. 

Young  Todd  was  among  the  first  to  volunteer  his 
services,  and  he  was  elected  ensign  in  one  of  the 
Lexington  companies,  but  was  soon  afterward  ap- 


22          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

pointed  to  a  position  in  the  Quartermaster-General's 
Department.  He  was  afterward  assigned  to  another 
position,  and  was  soon  actively  engaged  against  the 
enemy.  We  learn  from  McAfee's  History  of  the 
War  of  1812,  and  from  Hall's  Life  of  Harrison,  that 
in  the  campaign  which  followed  Colonel  Todd  ren- 
dered invaluable  service. 

General  Harrison,  in  a  letter  to  the  War  Depart- 
ment, recommended  him  for  a  captaincy  in  the  line, 
saying  that  "  he  appeared  to  combine  the  ardor  of 
youth  with  the  maturity  of  age." 

The  campaign  terminated  in  the  unfortunate  battle 
of  the  River  Raisin.  The  movement  to  that  point 
was  made  by  General  Winchester.  It  was  made  in 
violation  of  Harrison's  instructions  in  regard  to  the 
campaign.  Harrison's  instructions  were  conveyed 
by  the  subject  of  my  sketch  from  the  right  wing  to 
the  left  of  the  army,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  miles, 
through  a  swampy  wilderness.  McAfee,  in  his  His- 
tory of  the  War  of  1812,  says  that  "Colonel  Todd 
performed  the  hazardous  journey  with  a  secrecy  and 
dispatch  highly  creditable  to  his  enterprise."  The 
defeat  of  Winchester  was  the  defeat  of  the  campaign, 
but  measures  were  taken  to  obtain  command  of  the 
lake  prior  to  active  operations  in  the  next  cam- 
paign. In  the  mean  time  the  British  General  Proctor 
attempted  to  take  Camp  Meigs  on  the  Maumee,  and 
Fort  Stevenson  on  the  Sandusky,  but  both  attempts 
were  signal  failures. 

Harrison  made  a  requisition  upon  the  Governor 
of  Kentucky  for  troops  to  act  in  the  decisive  opera- 
tions of  the  campaign.  The  Governor,  the  noble 
and  gallant  Shelby,  around  whose  peerless  name  so 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          23 

many  bright  and  glorious  recollections  cluster,  offered 
to  lead  the  troops  in  person.  Four  thousand 
mounted  men  rallied  on  thirty  days'  notice.  The 
venerable  Governor  reached  the  scene  of  operations 
just  as  Perry  had  obtained  command  of  the  lake. 
The  genius  of  Harrison  now  shone  out  in  the  fulness 
of  its  splendor.  He  had  entire  command  of  the 
lake,  and  was  ready  at  any  moment  to  attack  De- 
troit and  Maiden.  The  British  forces  became 
alarmed  at  the  condition  of  affairs,  and  began  to  re- 
treat. Their  Indian  allies  fast  deserted  them.  Less 
than  one  half  remained  faithful  in  adversity.  Even 
the  gallant  Tecumseh  refused  to  share  the  fortunes  of 
Proctor,  except  on  condition  that  the  first  favorable 
ground  should  be  selected  for  battle. 

The  division  of  Major-General  Desha  was  formed 
at  right  angles,  which  caused  it  to  face  the  Indian 
line.  But,  just  as  the  order  to  advance  was  about  to 
be  given  to  Trotter's  brigade  of  Henning's  division, 
information  was  obtained  through  Colonel  Wood,  of 
the  Engineers,  that  the  enemy  was  formed  in  open 
order.  This  information  decided  Harrison  to  charge 
the  British  line  with  Colonel  Johnson's  regiment. 
Harrison  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  right  bat- 
talion of  this  regiment.  The  enemy  was  unable  to 
resist  the  charge,  and  gave  way  in  the  wildest  confu- 
sion. The  Indians  fought  with  the  utmost  despera- 
tion ;  but,  Tecumseh  being  killed,  they  were  driven 
from  every  position  they  assumed. 

Colonel  Todd  was  engaged  in  the  battle  from  the 
beginning  to  the  close.  He  was  by  the  side  of  Har- 
rison in  the  charge  upon  the  British  regulars,  and 
was  despatched  with  orders  to  Governor  Shelby, 


24          BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

whose  command  was  stationed  at  the  intersection  of 
the  two  divisions.  Colonel  Todd,  with  this  portion 
of  the  army,  now  participated  in  the  action  against 
the  Indians,  but  when  the  Indians  were  driven  from 
their  position  he  was  recalled  to  engage  in  the  pur- 
suit of  Proctor.  In  this  pursuit  Colonel  Todd  was 
accompanied  by  Colonel  Wood,  Major  Payne,  Major 
Chambers,  and  Captain  Langham.  There  is  scarcely 
an  historian,  who  has  given  an  account  of  this  en- 
gagement, but  makes  some  honorable  mention  of 
these  gallant  and  accomplished  soldiers.  The  pur- 
suing force,  though  unable  to  overtake  Proctor,  suc- 
ceeded in  capturing  his  sword,  carriage,  and  papers. 
Wood  and  Todd  were  far  in  advance  of  the  other  offi- 
cers. The  pursuing  party  succeeded  in  capturing  quite 
a  number  of  prisoners.  A  mounted  British  officer, 
who  was  among  the  captured,  endeavored  treacher- 
ously to  shoot  Colonel  Todd.  This  attempt  was 
instantly  discovered  by  Captain  Wood,  who  struck 
the  coward  down  with  his  sword.  Captain  Wood 
was  breveted  major  for  gallant  conduct  in  defence  of 
Fort  Meigs,  lieutenant-colonel  for  conspicuous  service 
at  the  battle  of  Luncly's  Lane,  and  colonel  for  his  he- 
roic part  in  the  defence  of  Fort  Erie.  He  would  have 
been  made  brigadier-general  of  the  elite  of  the  army 
had  he  not  fallen  in  the  sortie  from  the  Fort  on  the 
1 7th  of  September,  1814.  He  was  wounded  in  the 
thigh,  and  was  bayoneted  while  tendering  his  sword. 
That  our  readers  may  form  some  idea  of  the  im- 
portance of  the  victory  on  the  Thames,  we  give  the 
following  extract  from  an  article  entitled  "The  Mili- 
tary Genius  of  Harrison,"  from  the  pen  of  Colonel 
Todd,  first  printed  in  1840,  in  the  Cincinnati  Re- 
publican: 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.          25 

"  The  strong  position  of  the  enemy  rendered  it 
probable,  that,  if  the  American  army  should  be  victo- 
rious, the  result  would  be  achieved  by  the  loss  of 
many  gallant  men. 

"The  British  troops  occupied  the  left  of  the  allied 
army,  resting  upon  an  unfavorable  view,  with  its 
right  extending  into  swamps  filled  with  Indians 
under  Tecumseh.  To  undertake  to  turn  the  Indians' 
right  would  have  been  hazardous,  and  certainly  at- 
tended with  great  loss  of  life.  The  British  line  was 
then  properly  regarded  as  the  weakest  point  of  the 
enemy.  In  the  first  instance  the  charge  was  in- 
tended to  be  made  by  the  infantry,  the  front  of  which 
was  commanded  by  Trotter;  but  the  fortunately  dis- 
covered error  committed  by  Proctor  in  opening  his 
files  led  to  the  brilliant  conception  of  charging  with 
the  mounted  troops  of  Colonel  Johnson.  The  result 
is  known  to  the  world,  —  an  entire  British  army  cap- 
tured and  two  thousand  Indians  defeated,  with  an 
immense  loss  of  life,  by  less  than  fifteen  hundred 
Americans,  whose  loss  was  less  than  thirty  killed 
and  forty  wounded ;  and  an  end  put  to  the  war  in 
the  Northwest,  an  important  territory  restored  to  the 
United  States,  and  the  uppermost  part  of  Canada 
conquered.  Other  generals  have  acquired  renown 
by  great  bloodshed,  but  in  the  career  of  Harrison 
we  recognize  equal  glory  in  the  results,  with  much 
greater  prudence  and  humanity  in  the  preservation 
of  the  lives  of  his  patriotic  soldiers." 

In  the  fall  of  1814,  General  McArthur  undertook 
an  expedition  into  Canada.  Colonel  Todd,  having 
been  previously  appointed  Assistant  Inspector-Gen- 
eral, acted  as  McArthur's  Adjutant-General.  It  was 

4 


26          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

one  of  the  most  brilliant  and  successful  expeditions 
of  the  war.  It  was  organized  at  Urbana,  and 
marched  from  Detroit.  It  consisted  of  seven  hun- 
dred mounted  men.  Its  object  was  to  prevent  the 
enemy  from  molesting  Michigan. 

Headley,  in  his  "Second  War  with  England,"  says: 
"  It  was,  however,  no  holiday  march.  Expedition  was 
necessary  for  success.  The  horses  were  kept  to  the 
top  of  their  endurance  —  straining  up  acclivities, 
floundering  through  swamps,  struggling  with  the 
rapid  current  of  rivers.  This  detachment  succeeded 
in  penetrating  more  than  two  hundred  miles  into  the 
enemy's  country,  and  to  within  twenty-five  miles  of 
Burlington  Height.  It  marched  more  than  four  hun- 
dred miles,  one  hundred  and  eighty  of  it  through  an 
unbroken  wilderness,  defeated  five  hundred  militia 
strongly  posted,  killed  and  wounded  twenty-seven 
men,  took  one  hundred  and  eleven  prisoners,  and 
returned  with  a  loss  of  but  one  man.  McArthur 
showed  himself  a  skilful  and  able  commander,  while 
his  subordinates  deserved  the  highest  commendation''' 

McAfee,  in  speaking  of  this  expedition,  says  (see 
McAfee's  History  of  the  War  of  1812,  page  453)  : 
"  And  thus  terminated  an  expedition  which  was  not 
surpassed  during  the  war  in  the  boldness  of  its  de- 
sign and  the  address  with  which  it  was  conducted. 
It  was  attended  with  the  loss  of  one  man  only  on 
our  part,  while  that  of  the  enemy  was  considerable 
in  men,  as  well  as  the  injury  done  to  his  resources. 
It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  General  Drummond 
could  subsist  his  troops,  with  the  aid  of  all  the  mills 
in  his  vicinity,  and  without  them  his  difficulties  must 
have  been  greatly  increased.  General  McArthur, 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          2J 

who  conceived  and  conducted  the  expedition,  dis- 
played great  bravery  and  military  skill.  No  one 
could  have  managed  his  resources  with  more  pru- 
dence and  effect.  His  officers  and  men  were  also 
entitled  to  the  highest  praise  and  gratitude  of  the 
country  for  their  firmness  in  danger,  and  the  cheer- 
fulness and  fortitude  with  which  they  obeyed  his 
orders  and  endured  the  greatest  hardships." 

Major  Todd  was  particularly  distinguished.  "  I 
have  the  support  of  all  the  troops,"  says  General 
Me  Arthur,  "in  assuring  you  that  to  the  military  skill, 
activity,  and  intelligence  of  Major  Todd,  who  acted 
as  my  Adjutant-General,  much  of  the  fortunate  pro- 
gress and  issue  of  this  expedition  is  attributable,  and 
I  cheerfully  embrace  this  occasion  to  acknowledge 
the  important  services  which  he  has  at  all  times  ren- 
dered me  whilst  in  command  of  the  district.  His 
various  merits  justly  entitle  him  to  the  notice  of  the 
Government." 

The  following  spring  Colonel  Todd  was  promoted 
to  the  position  of  Inspector-General  of  the  district. 


28          BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Colonel  Todd  resumes  the  Practice  of  the  Law  at  Frankfort  —  Becomes 
interested  in  Masonry  —  His  Address  before  Mt.  Horan  Lodge  —  He  is 
married  to  Miss  Shelby. 

AT  the  close  of  the  war,  Colonel  Todd  returned 
to  Frankfort,  Ky.,  and  resumed  the  practice  of 
the  law.     He  soon  became  regarded  as  one  of  the 
foremost  men  at  the  bar. 

At  this  time  he  became  very  much  interested  in 
the  study  of  Masonry.  He  delivered  a  number  of 
addresses  on  this  subject  that  attracted  a  good  deal 
of  attention.  The  following  address  he  delivered 
before  the  Mt.  Horan  Lodge,  at  Frankfort,  June  24th, 
1815.  It  displays  in  an  able  and  learned  manner  the 
precepts  of  this  noble  brotherhood  : 

Worshipful  Master,  Officers,  and  Brethren  :  —  Meeting  on 
the  level  of  equal  privileges,  social  feelings,  and  humble 
hearts,  let  us  endeavor,  in  a  concise  manner,  to  do  justice 
to  the  purpose  for  which  we  are  convened  this  day  —  the 
celebration  of  the  anniversary  of  a  distinguished  patron  of 
Freemasonry,  St.  John  the  Baptist.  The  attempt,  it  is 
hoped,  will  be  received  with  that  chanty  which  forms  a 
main  pillar  in  our  ancient  edifice  ;  and,  whilst  "  the  imper- 
fections of  a  brother  claim  a  brother's  indulgence,"  you  will 
bear  with  me  in  an  unadorned  exposition  of  some  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  our  Order. 

Masonry,  if  not  coeval  with  mankind,  originated  with  the 
fall  of  man,  and  with  the  wants  which  that  fall  produced. 
It  has,  therefore,  been  justly  asserted,  that  the  causes  more 
immediately  contributing  to  the  introduction  of  the  art  may 
be  traced  to  the  period  of  the  first  sin,  since,  in  the  desire 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          29 

to  afford  a  covering  and  protection  to  Eve,  Adam  resorted 
to  suitable  contrivances,  which,  upon  gradual  improvement, 
became  the  foundation  of  operative  Masonry.  Thus  in  its 
early  origin  do  we  recognize  that  special  regard  to  the  fair 
sex  which  characterizes  all  true  and  faithful  Masons ;  and 
if  the  most  lovely  part  of  creation  be  denied  the  beauties 
of  the  Mystic  Order,  a  satisfactory  apology  may  be  found 
in  the  consideration  that  their  oivn  feelings,  open  as  day  to 
melting  charity,  prompt  them  to  offer  balsam  to  the 
wounded  spirit,  and  their  "  own  hearts  are  the  Lodges  in 
which  virtue  presides." 

Man  in  the  pristine  ages  of  barbarism  was  too  fatally  in- 
clined to  regard  as  his  enemy  that  fellow-being  whom  the 
Creator  in  his  wisdom  had  destined  to  become  the  partici- 
pator of  his  blessings.  Consequently,  at  different  periods 
of  the  world,  Masonry  was  suffered  to  decline  ;  but,  founded 
as  it  is  on  the  eternal  rock  of  truth  and  brotherly  love,  it 
withstood  the  shocks  of  superstition  and  prejudice,  and,  in 
proportion  to  the  progress  of  science  and  civilization,  its 
pillars  were  strengthened,  and  further  knowledge  disclosed 
new  beauties.  The  introduction  of  the  Christian  Religion, 
the  revival  of  letters,  and  the  doctrines  of  Masonry,  each 
operating  upon  the  hopes,  the  understanding,  and  the  heart 
of  man,  gradually  directed  his  efforts  to  the  purposes  of 
civilization ;  and  under  their  influence  it  was  happily  found, 
that,  renouncing  the  contracted  views  of  the  selfish  in  order 
to  embrace  the  more  enlivening  qualities  of  the  social  prin- 
ciple, he  threw  off  the  fetters  of  national  animosity,  and 
became  himself  the  ardent  advocate  for  the  amelioration 
of  his  species. 

In  the  history  of  the  character  and  progress  of  Masonry, 
we  can  boast  among  its  members  and  patrons  the  most  dis- 
tinguished men  of  every  age.  Caesar,  Alfred,  and  the  most 
illustrious  monarchs  of  the  British  Empire  deigned  to  de- 
scend to  the  level  of  a  brother,  and  participated  in  all  the 
rites  and  blessings  of  the  institution.  The  most  pious  of 
divines,  the  most  moral  of  moralists,  the  most  renowned  of 


3O          BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

warriors,  the  most  zealous  of  patriots,  and  the  most  enlight- 
ened of  every  art  and  of  every  science,  have  been  classed 
among  the  members  of  an  institution  which  embraces  the 
noblest  feelings  and  the  most  liberal  principles  —  whose 
canopy  is  Heaven !  and  whose  usefulness  is  commensurate 
with  creation  ! 

The  first  corner-stone  in  Masonry  is  a  belief  in  the  Eter- 
nal God,  the  Grand  Architect  of  the  Universe.  With  this 
foundation,  can  its  tendency  be  presumed  to  be  either  irre- 
ligious, immoral,  or  disorganizing?  Yet  in  every  age  at- 
tempts have  been  made  to  inculcate  such  doctrines ;  and, 
even  at  this  day,  the  horrors  of  the  Inquisition  have  ex- 
tended to  the  persecution  of  the  meek  and  humble  tenets 
of  brotherly  love.  In  regard  to  the  secrecy  with  which  our 
proceedings  are  conducted,  it  may  be  proper  to  remark  that 
benefits  which  are  common  and  easily  procured  are  but 
slightly  appreciated.  It  is  the  veneration  created  by  im- 
penetrable mystery,  added  to  the  usefulness  and  moral 
worth  which  ought  to  distinguish  Masons,  that  has  pre- 
served it  unimpaired  through  the  lapse  of  ages ;  for  "  Ma- 
sonry is  not  only  the  most  ancient,  but  the  most  moral  in- 
stitution that  ever  subsisted.  Every  character,  figure,  and 
emblem  depicted  in  a  Lodge,  has  a  moral  tendency,  and 
inculcates  the  practice  of  virtue." 

Upon  entering  the  Lodge,  we  divest  ourselves,  as  far  as 
practicable,  of  all  the  follies,  the  vanities,  the  petty  ambi- 
tion, the  vexation,  and  the  turmoil  to  which  an  intercourse 
with  the  world  necessarily  exposes  us.  In  the  bosom  of  the 
Lodge,  private  animosity,  family  jealousy,  political  bicker- 
ings, and  religious  altercation  are  forgotten;  and,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  our  excellent  Constitution,  we  may  say  that  "  free- 
dom of  opinion  thus  indulged,  but  its  points  never  discussed, 
is  the  happy  influence  under  which  the  unity  of  this  honor- 
able society  has  been  preserved  from  time  immemorial  — 
upon  which  account  Masonry  has  become  the  centre  of 
union,  and  the  means  of  conciliating  among  those  that 
might  otherwise  have  remained  at  a  perpetual  distance, 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          31 

causing  them  to  love  as  brethren  and  heirs  of  the  same 
hope,  partaking  of  the  same  promises,  children  of  the  same 
God,  and  candidates  for  the  same  Heaven."  And,  again, 
"  Masons,  being  declared  of  the  oldest  religion,  universally 
acknowledged  as  such,  and  of  all  nations,  are  bound  to  live 
upon  the  square,  level,  and  plumb  with  each  other,  following 
the  footsteps  of  their  predecessors  in  cultivating  the  peace 
and  harmony  of  the  Lodge,  without  distinction  of  sect  or 
political  party." 

Upon  the  subject  of  the  abuses  of  Masonry,  it  is  important 
that  we  should  seriously  reflect.  Let  us  convince  the  world, 
by  our  conduct,  whilst  out  of  the  Lodge,  of  the  excellence 
of  the  principles  inculcated  ///  it.  The  institution  is  holy 
and  enlightened  !  Let  not  the  world,  therefore,  withdraw 
its  regard  because  some  of  our  professors  are  unworthy. 
It  behooves  us,  by  the  correctness  of  our  conduct,  to  rebut 
an  imputation  so  dishonorable.  That  some  of  us  do  not  act 
conformably  to  the  principles  of  our  Order  is  not  conclusive 
evidence  that  those  principles  are  in  themselves  improper. 
As  well  might  the  enemies  of  Masonry  deny  us  in  this 
world  the  comforts  of  the  religion  of  the  meek  and  humble 
Jesus,  and  the  hopes  that  religion  encourages  of  life  ever- 
lasting, because  we  know  that  some  of  its  professors  are 
found  unworthy  of  the  high  trust  committed  to  them.  Let 
us,  then,  cherish  a  strict  regard  to  truth  and  brotherly  love. 
Let  us  regulate  our  conduct  according  to  the  golden  rule 
of"  doing  unto  all  men  as  we  would  that  all  men  should  do 
unto  us."  Let  us  cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with  our 
fellow-creatures ;  gently  reprove  the  foibles  of  each  other ; 
extend  to  the  distressed,  either  of  mind  or  body,  the  hand 
of  diffusive  charity  ;  and,  above  all,  like  the  Great  Architect 
of  the  Universe,  let  us  judge  a  brother  in  mercy. 

When  the  best  men,  and  the  most  distinguished  patriots  — 
when  such  men  as  Washington,  Franklin,  and  Warren  have 
condescended  to  labor  with  us  in  the  same  vineyard,  ought 
we  not  to  be  doubly  excited  to  honorable  exertion  in  the 
path  of  rectitude  ?  Respect  for  the  constituted  authorities 


32          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

is  a  fundamental  pillar  of  the  Order.  Let  us,  then,  by  a  just 
sense  of  patriotism,  convince  our  country  that  we  are  worthy 
of  the  glorious  inheritance  purchased  by  the  blood  of  our 
fathers.  Let  us  show  that,  by  a  temporary  retirement  from 
worldly  commerce  into  the  bosom  of  the  Lodge  and  the 
"  All-seeing  Eye,"  we  may,  from  the  reception  of  virtuous 
precepts,  return  again  with  better  capacities  to  discharge 
our  duty  as  citizens.  In  becoming  Masons  we  do  not  cease 
to  be  men,  because  whilst  nature  exists  the  passions  and 
the  frailties  incident  to  that  nature  will  also  continue.  No 
civil,  no  moral  institution  can  totally  eradicate  the  sin 
inseparably  connected  with  our  existence.  To  correct  its 
tendency  has  been  the  principal  design  in  all  societies. 
So,  in  Masonry,  we  do  not  entirely  cease  to  feel  all  those 
dangerous  passions  which  not  unfrequently  set  a  troubled 
world  in  motion.  To  calm  the  impetuous  dispositions  of 
the  heart,  "  to  square  our  actions  by  the  rules  of  rectitude, 
persevere  in  the  rule  of  our  duty,  and  restrain  our  passions 
within  the  compass  of  propriety,"  are  among  the  benign 
principles  of  our  Order;  and  thrice  happy  is  he  who,  prac- 
tising them,  can  say  :  This  institution  and  these  things  have 
made  me  a  better  man,  and  a  more  useful  citizen. 

Among  the  causes  which  have  tended,  at  various  periods 
of  the  world,  to  excite  temporary  prejudice  against  the 
nature  and  effects  of  Masonry,  the  character  and  deport- 
ment of  its  members  whilst  out  of  the  Lodge  may  be 
deemed  most  serious.  It  is,  as  it  ought  to  be,  the  touch- 
stone of  our  creed.  Those  ivithont  can  only  appreciate  the 
principles  taught  ivithin  by  an  attentive  observance  of  our 
conduct  as  men  and  as  citizens.  Let  us,  then,  my  brethren, 
by  a  discreet,  honorable,  and  virtuous  career,  study  to  evince 
our  attachment  to  the  landmarks  of  the  Order,  and  thereby 
command  the  confidence  of  the  world  in  their  beneficial 
tendency  and  effect.  We  cannot  presume  to  be  exempt 
from  those  evils  that  are  necessarily  attendant  upon  human- 
ity. Let  us,  however,  reclaim,  as  far  as  practicable,  the 
frailties  of  our  nature.  Let  us  cultivate  the  social  virtues  — 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          33 

zealously  regard  the  qualities  of  prudence,  temperance,  and 
of  a  meek  demeanor.  And,  finally,  let  us  show  to  the  world, 
that,  in  becoming  Masons,  we  become  better  men. 

In  regard  to  those  who  may  hereafter  solicit  the  benefits 
of  our  institution,  let  us  be  particularly  careful  to  embrace 
none  whose  honorable  principles  and  whose  correct  deport- 
ment do  not  guarantee  an  observance  of  the  admirable 
tenets  of  Masonry.  A  disregard  of  this  principle  has,  in 
every  instance,  procured  for  the  craft  temporary  unpopular- 
ity. Let  us,  as  far  as  possible,  repair  the  breach,  and  in 
future  let  none  enter  who  are  not  worthy  of  the  high  estate. 
Let  us  at  all  times  trust  in  our  Leader,  the  Grand  Architect 
of  the  Universe.  Let  us,  by  due  preparation,  be  the  better 
enabled  to  pass  through  the /r/Vz/Jwe  may  have  to  encounter. 
Let  us,  by  prudence  and  caution,  avoid  the  dangers  that  sur- 
round us  in  the  rugged  pat/i  of  life,  that,  when  "  removed 
from  this  terrestrial  Lodge,  we  may  be  admitted,  by  the 
password  of  grace,  into  the  Lodge  celestial,  to  an  everlasting 
refreshment  within  the  vail."  Finally,  my  brethen,  by  "faith 
in  God,  hope  in  immortality,  and  charity  to  all  mankind," 
may  we  ascend,  by  the  ladder  of  honorable  exertion,  to  that 
Lodge  which  is  the  residence  of  "  the  spirits  of  just  men 
made  perfect,"  and  governed  by  the  Grand  Master  of  the 
Universe,  whose  Tyler  is  death,  and  whose  portal  the  grave! 

In  1816,  Colonel  Todd  was  married  to  Letitia 
Shelby,  the  youngest  daughter  of  Governor  Shelby. 
She  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  gifted  women 
in  the  State.  Her  features  were  regular  and  clas- 
sical, and  her  complexion  was  of  the  most  dazzling 
whiteness.  No  one  could  be  in  her  presence  with- 
out being  impressed  with  her  beauty  and  accomplish- 
ments. I  have  seen  a  portrait  01  her  by  Jouett,  one 
of  the  finest  artists  in  the  country.  It  is  indeed  a 
splendid  specimen  of  art,  and  is  regarded  as  a  per- 
5 


34          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

feet  likeness ;  but  I  am  satisfied  that  no  art  could  do 
justice  to  the  beauty  that  took  all  hearts  captive. 

Colonel  Todd  first  saw  her  at  Frankfort,  Ky., 
the  capital  of  the  State,  and  was  at  once  deeply  im- 
pressed with  her  charms.  She  was  surrounded  by  a 
gay  and  brilliant  circle,  but  her  eyes  were  fixed  on 
him  alone.  It  was  with  both  a  clear  case  of  love  at 
first  sight. 

"At  first  sight  they  changed  eyes." 

Colonel  Todd  was  then  an  officer  in  the  regular 
army,  and  was  compelled  to  join  his  regiment.  After 
standing  the  separation  as  long  as  he  could,  he  ap- 
plied for  a  furlough.  This  being  denied  him,  he 
addressed  Miss  Shelby  in  an  open  letter  enclosed  to 
her  father.  Governor  Shelby  saw  proper  to  withhold 
the  letter.  It  was,  however,  accidentally  discovered 
by  her,  and,  after  reading  it,  she  evinced  such  attach- 
ment for  her  lover  that  the  most  cordial  consent  was 
given  to  their  union. 

Colonel  Todd  lived  very  happily  with  his  wife 
until  her  death,  which  occurred  the  22d  of  July, 
1868. 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES   S.  TODD.          35 


CHAPTER  V. 

Colonel  Todd  is  appointed  Secretary  of  State  —  His  Election  to  the  Legis- 
lature over  Judge  Marshall  and  Judge  Bibb — His  Re-election  over  Gen- 
eral Hardin  —  Is  appointed  Minister  to  Bogota  —  His  Discharge  of  his 
Mission  approved  by  John  Q.  Adams  —  He  returns  to  the  United  States, 
and  Settles  on  a  Farm  in  Shelby  County,  Kentucky —  His  Intelligence 
and  Enterprise  as  a  Farmer  —  His  Services  to  Agriculture. 

IN  the  fall  of  1816,  Colonel  Todd  was  appointed 
Secretary  of  State  by  Governor  Madison.  On 
the  death  of  Madison,  Colonel  Todd  resigned  his 
position,  as  it  was  expected  that  the  incoming  admin- 
istration would  be  under  the  control  of  a  different 
political  policy. 

In  1817,  Colonel  Todd  was  elected  to  the  legisla- 
ture of  Kentucky,  after  a  very  exciting  and  hotly 
contested  canvass.  There  were  two  candidates  op- 
posed to  him,  Judge  Marshall  and  Judge  Bibb.  Both 
of  these  men  had  great  popularity  in  the  district ; 
but  Colonel  Todd  came  out  triumphant.  In  1818  he 
was  again  elected,  and  this  time  over  General  Hardin, 
one  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  State. 

In  1820,  Colonel  Todd  was  appointed  minister  to 
Colombia,  South  America,  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
pleting negotiations  which  had  been  suspended  by 
the  death  of  Commodore  Perry,  and  to  remain  as  a 
confidential  agent  with  the  pay  of  a  charge  d'affaires. 
He  was  permitted  to  return  to  the  United  States  in 
1821.  He  elicited  from  the  administration,  during 
this  mission,  the  highest  commendation.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  copy  of  a  letter  to  Colonel  Todd  from  John 


36         BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES   S.    TODD. 

Quincy  Adams,  who  was  then  Secretary  of  State. 
The  original  letter  is  in  possession  of  L.  J.  Cist,  the 
distinguished  autographic  collector  of  St.  Louis  : 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  WASHINGTON,  igth  July,  1821. 

COLONEL  CHARLES  TODD,  Frankfort,  Ky. 

SIR  :  Your  despatches  and  letters,  with  their  enclosures, 
during  your  absence  from  the  United  States,  and  since 
your  return  until  your  letter  of  the  2Oth  ultimo,  have  been 
duly  received  at  the  Department. 

I  am  directed  by  the  President  U.  S.  to  express  to  you 
his  approbation  of  your  conduct  during  your  agency,  and 
his  regret  that  the  state  of  your  health  prevented  you  from 
proceeding  to  your  ultimate  destination ;  and  to  add  his 
wish  that,  as  soon  as  your  health  shall  have  been  restored, 
so  that  it  may  suit  your  convenience  to  resume  your  duties, 
you  would  again  proceed  to  the  post  of  your  destination. 

Your  compensation  will  recommence  from  the  time  of 
your  leaving  home  to  repair  to  that  post.  You  will  take 
such  course  for  proceeding  to  the  Southern  continent,  as 
you  shall  judge  most  advisable  and  most  convenient  to 
yourself.  No  particular  addition  to  the  instructions  hereto- 
fore given  you  is  believed  to  be  necessary. 
I  am,  with  great  respect,  Sir, 

Your  very  humble  and  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)  JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 

In  1822  he  was  sent  out,  in  a  frigate,  with  the  re- 
cognition of  the  independence  of  Colombia. 

The  subjoined  despatch,  sent  from  Bogota  the  4th 
of  July,  1823,  to  the  State  Department  at  Washing- 
ton, will  give  the  reader  some  idea  of  the  ability  and 
fidelity  with  which  he  discharged  the  duties  assigned 
him  at  Bogota. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.  3/ 

BOGOTA,  4th  July,  1823. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor,  by  a  safe  private  conveyance,  of 
enclosing  a  duplicate  of  Nos.  50,  51,  52,  53,  and  54;  to- 
gether with  their  enclosures.  You  will  receive  herewith  a 
copy,  also,  of  the  statement  communicated  on  the  i6th 
ultimo  to  General  Santander,  with  the  report  made  by  the 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Conference  already 
referred  to.  I  submit,  at  the  same  time,  a  copy  of  what  I 
supposed  to  be  the  substance  of  that  conversation,  that  you 
may  be  possessed  of  every  circumstance  connected  with 
that  unpleasant  alternative.  Among  the  documents  deliv- 
ered to  General  Santander,  was  a  translation  of  so  much  of 
the  messages  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  in  181 1, 
1817,  1818,  1819,  and  1820,  as  referred  to  the  South  Amer- 
ican contest,  and  the  views  and  acts  of  the  Government 
growing  out  of  its  progress ;  a  translation  of  the  con- 
fidential conversation  with  the  President  in  September, 
1821,  the  substance  of  which  has  been  already  communi- 
cated to  you ;  and  a  translation  of  so  much  of  the  Instruc- 
tions to  Commodore  Perry  as  contains  an  account  of  the 
efforts  of  the  Government  by  negotiation  in  favor  of  the 
South  American  Cause,  and  of  the  reasons  recommending 
the  propriety  and  advantages  of  the  neutral  policy  of  the 
United  States. 

The  admission  made  by  the  Vice-President  of  his  enter- 
taining the  same  impression  which  other  persons  in  author- 
ity had  candidly  acknowledged  with  respect  to  the  United 
States  completely  confirmed  the  propriety  of  the  course 
pursued  in  soliciting  that  conference  ;  and,  though  communi- 
cated informally,  is  entitled  to  great  consideration,  as  afford- 
ing evidence  of  views  that  have  prevailed  to  our  injury  among 
the  highest  authorities.  There  are  some  allusions  in  my 
statement,  which,  on  a  cursory  view,  might  be  regarded  as 
digressions ;  bu{  they  were  introduced  with  the  special 
object  of  replying  to  certain  misrepresentations  in  the 
Report  of  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  of  showing 
particularly  that  the  Executive  Decree  requiring  all  con- 

461508 


38          BIOGRAPHY    OF   COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

signments  of  foreign  goods  to  be  made  to  citizens  of 
Colombia  was  not  justified  by  the  principle  of  reciprocity 
adopted  in  the  United  States. 

You  will  have  observed  an  obvious  negligence  on  the 
part  of  the  Executive  in  having  failed  when,  from  a  re- 
gard to  their  own  professions,  to  press  the  repeal  of  the 
five  per  cent. ;  and  the  very  reasons  assigned  by  Congress 
contradict,  by  inference,  the  opinion  so  confidently  urged 
in  the  accompanying  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs  of  the  Government  entertaining  the  most  friendly 
feelings  towards  the  United  States.  In  this  view  of  the 
subject,  it  may  be  considered  highly  impolitic  in  this  Gov- 
ernment to  regard  the  sense  of  gratitude  toward  the  United 
States  for  the  recognition,  instead  of  the  immutable  prin- 
ciples of  justice,  as  a  reason  for  the  repeal  of  a  law  which 
is  indirectly  acknowledged  to  have  originated  in  the  desire 
of  cultivating  sentiments  neither  of  peace  nor  friendship 
toward  the  Government,  whatever  may  have  been  their 
feelings  toward  our  virtuous  people  of  the  United  States. 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  repeat  the  assurance  of  a 
friendly  feeling  toward  us  pervading  the  mass  of  the  people, 
of  the  Congress,  and  a  majority  of  the  Executive ;  and  if 
they  have  ever  entertained  the  prejudices,  which  still  influ- 
ence the  conduct  of  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  they 
have  forgotten  them  so  far  as  not  to  suffer  them  to  interfere 
with  their  duty  to  both  countries.  Unfortunately,  however, 
for  the  United  States,  the  leading  men  of  this  country  have 
formed  their  opinions  upon  certain  assumed  facts  and  prin- 
ciples not  justified  by  the  real  attitude  between  the  two  coun- 
tries. They  have  undertaken  to  suppose  that  there  was  a 
perfect  identity  in  the  causes  and  consequences  of  the  two 
struggles,  and  have  proceeded  on  the  unwarrantable  infer- 
ence from  this  supposition  that  the  United  States,  their  elder 
brother  on  the  same  continent,  were  bound  to  unite  their 
destinies  with  them  ;  and  thus  not  only  involve  their  own 
peace  and  safety,  but  encounter  the  general  hostility  of  the 
Powers  of  Europe.  In  the  indulgence  of  their  unreason- 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.  39 

able  expectations,  they  appear  to  have  forgotten  that  the 
United  States,  as  a  sovereign  and  independent  power,  were 
the  sole  judges  of  their  duty  and  of  the  occasions  in  which 
it  might  be  considered  proper,  if  ever,  to  "  abandon  "  their 
own,  to  stand  "  on  foreign  ground."  The  justice  and  pru- 
dence of  their  counsels  in  avoiding  any  measure  which 
might  involve  them  in  the  war,  will  necessarily  impose  on 
them  the  propriety  of  mature  consideration  before  they 
form  any  other  than  commercial  relations  with  this  country. 
Indeed,  the  necessity  of  their  deriving  certain  benefit  against 
any  possible  designs  by  the  European  powers  would  alone 
justify  any  political  connection  with  it. 

With  respect  to  the  propriety  of  having  conferred  with 
the  Vice-President,  by  the  aid  of  one  of  the  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  rather  than  that  of  the  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  I  might  content  myself  with  the  remark  that,  as  it 
was  an  unofficial  interview,  I  was  not  only  not  required  to 
maintain  it  through  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  but, 
having  received  information  from  the  Judge  of  some  of  the 
circumstances  rendering  it  necessary,  there  seemed  to  be 
a  peculiar  fitness  in  making  the  explanation  through  that 
channel.  But  I  had,  notwithstanding,  abundant  evidence  of 
the  indelicacy  and  inexpediency  of  committing  it  to  the 
agency  of  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs, —  the  depreciat- 
ing allusions  in  his  letter  of  the  loth  of  May;  the  want  of 
cordiality  in  his  personal  intercourse;  his  notorious  un- 
friendliness towards  the  United  States ;  the  circumstances 
in  my  statement  implicating  his  sincerity;  a  measure  of  the 
most  extraordinary  nature  adopted  by  him  while  in  the 
United  States ;  his  general  character  and  the  breach  of 
confidence  in  causing  his  letters  to  me  to  be  translated  by 
a  foreigner,  who  is  distinguished  for  the  jealousy  and  ma- 
lignity with  which  he  regards  the  United  States,  and  the 
rights  and  interests  of  their  citizens,  although  I  had,  with 
a  view  to  avoid  this  circumstance,  previously  requested 
them  to  be  translated  by  a  Colombian,  as  there  were  not 
citizens  of  the  United  States  in  this  capital.  All  these 


4O          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

circumstances  precluded  the  hope  of  obtaining  justice  and 
conciliation  through  his  agency,  and  imposed  on  me  the 
imperious  duty  of  avoiding  any  measure  which  might  afford 
him  the  opportunity  of  further  deceptions,  or  of  widening 
the  breach. 

I  have  the  honor  of  enclosing  herewith  a  copy  of  a  note 
of  the  28th  ultimo  from  Mr.  C.  J.  Bunkle,  together  with  his 
correspondence  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  a 
copy  of  two  letters  of  the  3Oth  ultimo  from  the  Secretary  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  with  their  enclosures,  by  which  you  will  be 
advised  officially  of  the  repeal  of  the  discrimination  in  the 
Tariff  to  our  prejudice, —  and  of  a  decree,  by  the  Executive, 
of  the  1 8th  September,  1821,  respecting  the  seizure  of  a 
portion  of  the  cargo  of  the  brig  "  America."  On  the  sup- 
position that  the  parties  may  not  have  transmitted  to  the 
Department  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  in  this  case,  I 
have  the  honor  of  enclosing  a  copy  of  the  several  decrees 
adopted  by  the  authorities  of  Colombia,  and  known  to 
the  interested  prior  to  their  application  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  ;  together  with  that  lately  com- 
municated, and  purporting  to  have  been  authorized  on  the 
1 8th  September  last.  I  cannot  pretend,  in  the  short  space 
of  a  letter,  to  unfold  all  the  circumstances  connected  with 
this  transaction,  and  therefore  content  myself  with  men- 
tioning the  principal  features.  The  cargo  of  the  Brig 
"  America "  consisted  of  sundry  military  supplies,  to  be 
delivered,  under  contract,  with  this  Government,  and  a 
large  amount  of  merchandise,  chiefly  East  India.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  heavy  duties  on  the  importation,  amounting 
from  various  causes  to  fifty  per  cent,  upon  an  extravagant 
valuation,  though  at  Augostua  the  duties  of  importation 
did  not  exceed,  at  the  same  time,  fifteen  or  twenty  per  cent., 
the  supercargo  determined  to  enter  the  goods  for  re- 
exportation to  the  United  States ;  but  he  was  not  permitted 
to  carry  this  resolution  into  effect,  and  the  goods  were  re- 
quired to  be  landed  without  delay.  The  public  store-houses 
not  being  sufficiently  spacious,  they  were  disembarked  under 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.         4! 

a  special  and  written  permission,  and  in  the  usual  mode  in 
open  day,  and  deposited  in  the  house  of  a  private  individual 
near  to  the  custom-house.  During  the  landing  of  the 
goods,  the  written  permission,  according  to  custom,  was 
delivered  to  the  officer  who  has  the  direction  of  that  pro- 
ceeding ;  but  upon  the  trial,  which  was  instituted  on  the 
ground  of  an  attempt  clandestinely  to  introduce  the  twenty- 
two  cases  of  goods,  contrary  to  law,  this  necessary  docu- 
ment could  not  be  produced.  It  was  the  duty  and  in  the 
power  of  those  who  condemned,  or  procured  the  con- 
demnation, of  the  goods,  to  have  furnished  the  paper,  and 
the  result  authorizes  the  irresistible  conclusion  that  it  was 
purposely  withheld  or  destroyed.  The  seizure  was  made 
by  the  Government,  and  a  condemnation  had  by  General 
Montilla,  with  the  advice  of  the  assessor  or  judge,  D.  Gual, 
at  present  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  according  to 
the  laws  supposed  at  that  time  to  be  in  force,  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  proceeds  of  said  seizure  was  divided  between 
those  officers.  The  supercargo  was  prevented  from  prose- 
cuting an  appeal  to  the  superior  board  of  the  Treasury 
in  this  capital,  by  his  passport  being  refused,  as  consequence 
of  certain  process  issued  against  him  by  the  collector  for 
defamation,  in  stating  the  goods  had  been  illegally  con- 
demned. As  soon,  however,  as  the  sentence  below  had 
been  confirmed  in  this  capital,  though  in  the  absence  and 
without  an  opportunity  of  defence  by  the  supercargo,  the 
proceedings  for  defamation  were  dismissed  and  the  passport 
granted.  But  upon  his  arrival  at  Mompox,  where  he  had 
engaged  all  the  boats,  his  further  progress  was  again  ar- 
rested, for  six  weeks,  by  the  impressment,  under  the  order 
of  General  Montilla,  of  those  boats  for  the  transportation 
of  a  detachment  of  troops  to  quell  an  imaginary  revolt  at 
Ocana.  The  supercargo,  at  length,  however,  arrived  in  this 
capital,  though  after  the  expiration  of  six  months,  within 
which  a  rehearing  could  usually  be  had.  Fortunately  he 
succeeded,  in  consequence  of  the  interference  of  the  Attor- 
ney-General appointed  by  the  Government,  in  procuring  a 
6 


42         15IOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

rehearing  and  reversal  of  the  decision  at  Santa  Martha.  It 
may  be  pertinent  here  to  remark  that  General  Montilla, 
entertaining  doubts  of  the  legality  of  the  proposed  con- 
demnation, required  the  written  opinion  of  D.  Castillo, 
the  present  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  to  showing  that  the 
Assessor,  D.  Gual,  would  be  responsible  for  any  error  of 
opinion  in  the  case,  so  that  he  is  considered  eventually 
liable  for  the  principal,  and  whatever  damages  this  Govern- 
ment may  be  compelled  to  pay  for  the  irregular  seizure  and 
detention.  The  enclosed  copy  of  the  letter  from  Mr.  C.  J. 
Bunkle  to  his  employers  will  show  the  measures  he  adopted 
to  procure  indemnification  ;  and  that,  after  reference  to  all 
the  Departments  of  the  Government,  as  may  be  seen  in  the 
decrees,  he  finally  requested  the  Executive  to  inform  him, 
to  what  authority  to  make  effectual  application. 

I  have  the^most  satisfactory  assurances  that  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Treasury,  if  not  of  the  members  of  the  Govern- 
ment, were  advised  that  Mr.  Bunkle  had  left  an  agent  in 
this  capital  with  authority  to  receive  the  amount  of  the 
claim ;  and,  on  the  2Oth  of  March  last,  D.  Gual  was  in- 
formed that  I  had  received  instructions  from  my  Govern- 
ment to  submit  a  claim  in  this  case.  A  copy  of  all  the 
proceedings  was  accordingly  enclosed  with  my  despatch  of 
5th  April.  The  case,  however,  was  not  noticed  by  this 
Government,  until  his  letter  of  the  4th  June,  in  which,  so 
far  from  intimating  the  existence  of  a  subsequent  decree  on 
the  1 8th  September  by  the  Executive  who  had  previously 
disavowed  any  authority  to  interfere  in  the  sentence,  the 
Secretary  offered  certain  transferable  debentures  in  pay- 
ment as  soon  as  the  amount  of  the  claim  should  be  pre- 
cisely ascertained.  He  was  informed,  in  my  letter  of  the 
1 6th  June,  of  the  exact  amount  to  which  the  claim  would 
be  reduced ;  and,  although  Mr.  Bunkle  has  been  in  this 
capital  since  the  nth  of  May,  this  Government,  with  a 
knowledge  of  these  circumstances,  ventures  on  the  indelicate 
and  unwarrantable  proceeding  of  endeavoring  "  to  transfer 
the  negotiations,"  by  a  communication  on  the  23d  of  June, 
through  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  of  a  silent  decree, 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES   S.    TODD.          43 

to  an  individual  who  had  irrevocably  ceded  all  agency  in 
the  business  —  after  his  refusal,  very  properly,  to  enter  into 
any  discussion  upon  the  subject.  Received  .on  the  1st  July 
the  letter  and  accompanying  documents  from  the  Secretary 
of  Foreign  Affairs. 

It  is  not  necessary,  in  this  place,  to  animadvert  on  the  ne- 
farious complexion  of  the  whole  transaction,  so  derogatory 
to  the  good  faith  and  integrity  of  the  Government,  or  on  the 
suspicious  circumstances  attending  the  development  of  the 
extraordinary  decree  of  the  i8th  September,  in  the  main- 
tenance of  which  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  is  indi- 
vidually so  deeply  interested.  The  merits  of  the  controversy 
are  forgotten  in  the  unjustifiable  act  of  attempting  to  with- 
draw the  negotiations  from  the  hands  in  which  it  had  been 
legitimately  vested  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
and  the  parties  concerned.  At  a  more  convenient  time,  I 
shall  do  myself  the  honor  of  developing  all  the  circum- 
stances connected  with  this  case,  and  suggest,  for  the  pres- 
ent, that  the  facts  already  noticed  and  the  gross  intimation 
conveyed  in  the  concluding  paragraph  in  the  Secretary's 
letter  of  the  3Oth  of  June,  have  imposed  on  me  the  painful 
necessity  of  considering  all  further  official  intercourse,  on 
my  part,  with  this  Government  as  at  an  end  ;  and  that, 
whilst  the  present  Secretary  continues  to  be  the  organ  of 
this  Government  to  foreign  nations,  no  intercourse  will  be 
renewed,  until  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Anderson,  or  of  further 
powers  to  myself.  Indeed,  the  anxious  solicitude  I  feel  to 
avoid  any  act  which  might  embarrass  the  attitude  of  Mr. 
Anderson,  or  the  future  views  of  the  United  States  in  rela- 
tion to  this  country,  alone  prevents  me  demanding  my 
passports  immediately.  It  is  proper,  also,  to  apprise  you 
that  it  is  possible  I  may  yet  adopt  this  course,  and  that  I 
may  hesitate,  even  on  the  receipt  of  additional  instructions, 
to  renew  the  intercourse  through  D.  Gual. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be 

Your  obedient  servant, 

C.  S.  TOUD. 

HON.  J.  Q.  ADAMS. 


44          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

At  the  close  of  the  mission  to  Colombia,  in  1824, 
Colonel  Todd  returned  to  the  United  States,  and 
established  himself  upon  a  tract  of  land  in  Shelby 
County,  originally  located  by  Governor  Shelby.  It 
is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  Colonel  Todd  made 
his  farm  the  most  valuable  in  the  State.  He  intro- 
duced Blue  grass  into  the  woods,  and  introduced  the 
first  blooded  cattle.  When  he  took  charge  of  this 
tract  of  land,  it  could  not  have  been  sold  for  more 
than  five  dollars  per  acre;  but  his  improved  system 
of  cultivation  soon  made  it  worth  from  fifty  to  sixty 
dollars  per  acre. 

Indeed,  his  knowledge  of  farming  became  so  widely 
known  that  he  was  chosen  President  of  the  State 
Agricultural  Society.  The  pages  of  many  of  our 
most  prominent  agricultural  journals  and  magazines 
are  enriched  with  able  and  interesting  articles  from 
his  pen.  In  January,  1839,  ne  delivered  an  address 
before  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  which  was  very 
generally  read  and  admired.  Some  years  ago  it  was 
republished  in  a  Louisville  paper,  and  attracted  al- 
most as  much  attention  as  if  it  had  been  written  at  a 
more  recent  period.  I  have  been  unable  to  get  a 
copy  of  it,  or  I  should  certainly  have  included  it  in 
this  memoir. 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.          45 


CHAPTER    VI. 

The  Harrison  Campaign  —  Colonel  Todd  one  of  its  Master  -  Spirits  —  He 
Removes  to  Cincinnati,  and  takes  Charge  of  the  Cincinnati  Republican  — 
He  Speaks  as  well  as  Writes —  He,  in  Conjunction  with  Benjamin  Drake, 
Prepares  a  Life  of  General  Harrison  —  Extracts  from  this  Work — Inci- 
dents of  the  Campaign. 

ONE  of  the  most  interesting-  events  in  the  life 
of  Colonel  Todd  is  the  part  that  he  enacted  in 
the  election  of  General  Harrison  to  the  Presidency. 
As  soon  as  Harrison  was  nominated,  Colonel  Todd 
removed  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  took  charge  of  the 
Cincinnati  Republican,  then  one  of  the  most  influen- 
tial Whig  papers  in  the  State.  Besides  attending  to 
his  arduous  editorial  duties,  he  addressed  the  people 
in  nearly  all  the  large  cities  and  towns  in  the  West. 
He  was  also  employed,  in  conjunction  with  Benjamin 
Drake,  an  able  and  effective  writer,  by  the  Whig 
Central  Committees  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  to  pre- 
pare a  Life  of  General  Harrison.  The  work  was  soon 
completed.  It  consisted  of  a  small  volume  of  one 
hundred  and  seventy  pages.  It  was  published  by 
G.  P.  James,  of  Cincinnati.  Many  thousand  copies 
were  sold.  It  was  used  as  a  campaign  document, 
and  as  a  sort  of  text-book  by  the  leading  politicians 
and  journalists  of  the  country.  It  is  divided  into 
thirteen  chapters,  written  alternately  by  Colonel  Todd 
and  Mr.  Drake.  So  nearly  did  the  styles  of  these 
two  writers  resemble  one  another,  that  it  was  a  sub- 
ject of  curious  inquiry  which  parts  of  the  book  were 
written  by  Colonel  Todd  and  which  by  Mr.  Drake. 


46          BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

At  my  solicitation,  Colonel  Todd    pointed    out  the 
chapters  from  his  pen. 

The  Introduction  to  the  book  is  the  joint  work  of 
both.  The  first  chapter,  (an  extract  of  which  I  sub- 
join, giving  an  account  of  the  education  and  early  ^ 
life  of  General  Harrison,  his  entrance  into  the  army, 
and  of  the  battle  of  Maumee,  etc.,)  Colonel  Todd 
wrote.  It  will  enable  the  reader  to  form  a  very  cor- 
rect idea  of  the  character  of  the  work. 

"  WM.  HENRY  HARRISON  was  educated  at  Hamp- 
den  Sydney  College,  and  then  repaired  to  Philadel- 
phia to  pursue  the  study  of  medicine  under  the 
instruction  of  the  distinguished  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush, 
and  under  the  guardianship  of  Robert  Morris,  the 
great  financier  of  the  Revolution,  both  of  whom  were 
signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The 
youth,  who  had  laid  the  foundations  at  college  for  a 
taste  in  the  literature  and  history  of  the  ancient  clas- 
sics, was  thus  afforded  an  opportunity  of  drinking 
deep  at  these  fountains  of  the  genius  and  spirit  of  the 
Revolution.  He  had  derived  from  his  patriotic  father 
the  lessons  of  republican  liberty,  and  in  the  schopl  of 
Rush,  of  Morris,  and  of  Washington,  he  imbibed  a  love 
of  country,  which  led  him  to  encounter  difficulty  and 
danger  in  her  defence.  About  this  period  the  disasters 
of  the  Northwestern  army,  under  the  accomplished 
Harmar,  excited  a  deep  sympathy  in  the  public  mind, 
and  the  youthful  Harrison,  partaking  largely  of  the 
generous  impulses  of  the  day,  resolved  to  abandon 
the  studies  in  which  he  was  engaged,  and  to  partici- 
pate in  the  perils  as  well  as  the  sacrifices  which  were 
incident  to  this  great  border  warfare.  His  guardian 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          47 

and  his  friends  opposed  his  wish  to  enter  upon  this 
hazardous  duty;  but  he  applied  in  person  to  General 
Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  and  to  the  IMMORTAL  WASH- 
INGTON, who  granted  him  a  commission  of  ensign  in 
the  first  regiment  of  the  United  States  Artillery  ;  and 
in  November,  1791,  when  but  nineteen  years  of  age, 
he  marched  on  foot  to  Pittsburg,  and,  by  descending 
the  Ohio,  joined  his  regiment,  then  stationed  at  Fort 
Washington.  Shortly  before  the  disastrous  defeat 
of  the  veteran  SfClair,  ensign  Harrison  formed  the 
resolution  to  devote  his  energies  to  the  military  ser- 
vice oT  his  country,  at  a  period  when  his  judgment 
and  feelings  must  have  been  guided  by  a  high  sense 
of  patriotism,  and  a  disinterested  love  of  fame.  The 
theatre  of  the  war  was  in  the  remote  wilderness,  and 
the  character  of  the  enemy  such  that  laurels  were  to 
be  won  only  by  great  suffering  and  exposure  in  situ- 
ations destitute  of  the  comforts  or  even  the  necessa- 
ries of  civilized  life.  A  great  national  disaster  had 
occurred  in  1790,  under  the  gallant  Harmar,  who  was 
seconded  by  the  heroic  conduct  of  Colonel  Hardin, 
himself  a  sacrifice  to  the  treachery  of  the  Indian  char- 
acter. Congress  authorized,  at  its  next  session,  the 
raising  of  two  thousand  men,  under  the  denomination 
of  levies ;  and  General  St.  Clair,  governor  of  the 
Northwestern  territories,  was  appointed  commander- 
in-chief.  On  the  4th  of  November,  1791,  he  was  met 
and  likewise  defeated,  with  great  loss,  by  a  formida- 
ble body  of  Indians,  on  the  waters  of  the  Big  Miami 
River.  This  defeat  of  St.  Clair,  though  Congress 
subsequently  acquitted  him  of  all  blame,  produced  a 
deep  impression  on  the  public  mind,  and,  connected 
with  the  previous  disasters  of  the  war,  rendered  the 


48          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

service  unpopular,  drained  the  public  treasury,  and 
brought  the  country  into  a  crisis  which  developed 
the  energies  of  Washington's  great  intellect.  The 
war  had  assumed  a  national  importance,  inducing  the 
President  to  select  for  the  chief  of  the  army  a  soldier 
of  prudence,  of  experience,  and  of  energy.  The 
choice  was  balanced  for  a  time  between  Clarke  and 
Wayne,  both  distinguished  leaders  in  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  though  on  a  different  theatre  :  the  former 

O 

acting  under  the  immediate  eye  of  the  father  of  his 
country,  earning  for  himself  the  reputation  of  intre- 
pidity, with  fertility  of  expedient ;  the  latter  having 
won  the  distinctive  title  of  the  Hannibal  of  the  West. 
The  command  was  eventually  assigned  to  Wayne, 
who  acquired  a  new  wreath  of  glory  for  himself,  and 
added  to  the  proofs  of  the  sagacity  of  Washington. 
Ensign  Harrison  joined  his  regiment  at  Fort  Wash- 
ington, just  in  time  to  witness  the  return  of  the  frag- 
ments of  that  gallant  band,  which,  marching  out  in 
the  proud  anticipation  of  victory,  was  destined  to  a 
sad  reverse  under  the  veteran  St.  Clair.  Under  these 
discouraging  circumstances,  and  with  the  near  ap- 
proach of  winter,  Ensign  Harrison  commenced  his 
public  service  in  the  command  of  an  escort  having 
charge  of  a  train  of  pack-horses  destined  for  Fort 
Hamilton.  It  was  a  duty  involving  peril  and  fatigue 
by  night  and  by  day,  and  requiring  the  exercise  of 
sagacity  and  self-  denial.  His  performance  of  the 
arduous  task  elicited  the  commendations  of  General 
St.  Clair,  and  exhibited  an  interesting  instance  of  a 
character  in  which  the  ardor  of  youth  was  combined 
with  the  maturity  of  age.  In  1792  he  was  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  lieutenant,  and  in  1 793  joined  the  legion 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.          49 

under  General  Wayne,  and  was  not  long  afterwards 
selected  by  him  as  one  of  his  aids-de-camp,  —  illus- 
trating, in  an  eminent  degree,  the  confidence  of  that 
tried  soldier,  since  Lieutenant  Harrison  was  only 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  He  continued  to  act  as  aid 
to  General  Wayne  during  the  whole  of  the  ensuing 
campaign,  receiving,  as  he  merited,  repeated  instances 
of  high  encomium  from  his  commander.  The  first 
occurred  upon  the  occasion  of  a  detachment  having 
been  sent  on  the  23d  of  December,  1793,  to  take 
possession  of  the  field  of  battle  of  the  4th  'of  No- 
vember, 1 791,  and  to  fortify  the  position.  To  the  new 
post  was  given  the  name  of  Fort  Recovery.  The 
following  general  order  was  issued  on  the  'return  of 
the  troops  from  that  interesting  duty:  'The  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  returns  his  most  grateful  thanks  to 
Major  Henry  Burbeck,  and  to  every  officer,  non- 
commissioned officer,  and  private,  belonging  to  the 
detachment  under  his  command,  for  their  soldierly  and 
exemplary  good  conduct  during  their  late  arduous 
tour  of  duty,  and  the  cheerfulness  with  which  they 
surmounted  every  difficulty,  at  this  inclement  season, 
in  repossessing  General  St.  Glair's  field  of  battle,  and 
erecting  thereon  Fort  Recovery,  a  work  impregnable 
by  savage  force ;  as  also  for  piously  and  carefully 
collecting  and  interring  the  bones,  and  paying  the 
last  respect  and  military  honors  to  the  remains  of 
the  heroes  who  fell  on  the  4th  of  November,  1791,  by 
three  times  three  discharges  from  the  same  artillery 
that  was  lost  on  that  fatal  day,  but  now  recovered  by 
this  detachment  of  the  legion.  The  Commander-in- 
Chief  also  requests  Major  Mills,  Captains  De  Butts 
and  Butler,  Lieutenant  Harrison,  and  Dr.  Scott,  to 

7 


5O          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

accept  his  best  thanks  for  their  voluntary  aid  and 
services  on  this  occasion.' 

"  The  other  instance  of  commendation  of  the  gal- 
lantry of  Lieut.  Harrison  is  to  be  found  in  the  report 
made  by  General  Wayne  to  the  War  Department, 
in  relation  to  the  celebrated  battle  of  the  Maumee, 
which  we  shall  presently  introduce  to  the  notice  of 
the  reader.  The  youth,  the  early  habits  of  study, 
and  the  delicate  frame  of  Mr.  Harrison,  not  less  than 
the  perils  and  privations  incident  to  the  border  war- 
fare, would  have  intimidated  a  spirit  less  heroic  than 
his,  in  entering  upon  the  arduous  service  in  the 
Northwest.  As  illustrative  of  the  aspect  of  affairs, 
and  of  his  first  appearance  in  the  army,  an  old  sol- 
dier of  St.  Clair,  who  was  present,  has  remarked  :  '  I 
would  as  soon  have  thought  of  putting  my  wife  in 
the  service  as  this  boy;  but  I  have  been  out  with 
him,  and  I  find  those  smooth  cheeks  are  on  a  wise 
head,  and  that  slight  frame  is  almost  as  tough  as  my 
own  weather-beaten  carcass.'  General  Charles  Scott, 
a  veteran  of  the  Revolution,  who  enjoyed  the  special 
confidence  of  Washington,  arrived  in  July  from  Ken- 
tucky with  his  command  of  mounted  volunteers;  and, 
on  the  8th  of  August,  General  Wayne  took  up  a 
position  at  Grand  Glaize,  seventy  miles  in  advance 
of  Greenville.  A  strong  work  was  erected  at  the 
junction  of  the  Auglaize  and  Maumee  rivers,  and 
General  Wayne  again  opened  a  communication  with 
the  Indians  before  striking  the  final  blow.  '  I  have 
thought  proper,'  he  said,  'to  offer  the  enemy  a  last 
overture  of  peace;  and,  as  they  have  everything  that  is 
dear  and  interesting  at  stake,  I  have  reason  to  expect 
they  will  listen  to  the  proposition  mentioned  in  the 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.  51 

enclosed  copy  of  an  address  dispatched  yesterday  by 
a  special  flag,  under  circumstances  that  will  insure 
his  safe  return,  and  which  may  eventually  spare  the 
effusion  of  much  human  blood.  But,  should  war  be 
their  choice,  that  blood  be  upon  their  own  heads. 
America  shall  no  longer  be  insulted  with  impunity. 
To  an  all-powerful  and  just  God,  I  therefore  com- 
mit myself  and  gallant  army.'  The  enemy  rejected 
the  offer  of  peace ;  and  the  celebrated  Little  Turtle, 
who  advised  its  adoption  in  a  council  on  the  night 
before^the  battle,  spoke  as  follows:  '  We  have  beaten 
the  enemy  twice  under  separate  commanders.  We 
cannot  expect  the  same  good  fortune  to  attend  us 
always.  The  Americans  are  now  led  by  a  chief  who 
never  sleeps ;  the  night  and  the  day  are  alike  to  him. 
And  during  all  the  time  he  has  been  marching  upon 
our  villages,  notwithstanding  the  watchfulness  of  our 
young  men,  we  have  never  been  able  to  surprise  him. 
Think  well  of  it.  There  is  something  whispers  me, 
it  would  be  prudent  to  listen  to  his  offers  of  peace.' 
We  refer  the  reader  to  the  official  report  of  General 
Wayne,  of  the  27th  of  August,  1 794,  fora  perspicuous 
account  of  the  celebrated  battle  of  Maumee,  and  deem 
it  sufficient  for  our  present  purpose  to  give  an  extract 
relating  to  the  conduct  of  his  aid-de-camp,  Lieutenant 
Harrison  :  '  The  bravery  and  conduct  of  every  officer 
belonging  to  the  army,  from  the  generals  down  to 
the  ensigns,  merit  my  highest  approbation.  There 
were,  however,  some  whose  rank  and  situation  placed 
their  conduct  in  a  very  conspicuous  point  of  view, 
and  which  I  observed  with  pleasure  and  with  the 
most  lively  gratitude :  among  whom  I  beg  leave  to 
mention  Brigadier -General  Wilkinson  and  Colonel 


52          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

Hamtramek,  the  commandants  of  the  right  and  left 
wings  of  the  legion,  whose  brave  example  inspired 
the  troops;  and  to  these  I  must  add  the  names  of  my 
faithful  and  gallant  aids-de-camp,  Captains  De  Butts 
and  T.  Lewis,  and  Lieutenant  Harrison,  who,  with  the 
Adjutant-general,  Major  Mills,  rendered  the  most  es- 
sential service  by  communicating  my  orders  in  every 
direction,  and  by  their  conduct  and  bravery  exciting 
the  troops  to  press  for  victory'  The  praise  of  which 
lieutenant,  now  General  Harrison,  was  the  subject  in 
the  despatch  from  the  illustrious  Wayne,  was  of  a 
character  to  soothe  him  for  the  trials  and  the  perils  he 
had  encountered,  and  to  stimulate  him  to  increased 
diligence  in  the  discharge  of  the  high  and  responsible 
duties  confided  to  him  when  placed  afterwards  in  the 
command  of  Fort  Washington.  This  commenda- 
tion received  additional  weight  from  the  remarks 
made  in  the  presence  of  a  venerable  gentleman,  now 
living,  by  General  Wilkinson  and  Colonel  Shaum- 
burg,  who  said  that  'Harrison  was  in  the  foremost 
front  of  the  hottest  battle ;  his  person  was  exposed 
from  the  commencement  to  the  close  of  the  action. 
Wherever  duty  called,  he  hastened,  regardless  of 
danger ;  and  by  his  efforts  and  example  contributed 
as  much  to  secure  the  fortune  of  the  day  as  any 
other  officer  subordinate  to  the  Commander-in-Chief.' 
The  victory  at  Maumee  was  achieved  by  the  discipline 
of  Wayne's  army,  and  the  introduction  by  that  saga- 
cious leader  of  a  new  feature  in  military  tactics  as 
applied  to  Indian  warfare,  which  was  the  result  of  a 
plan  digested  by  Washington,  Knox,  and  Wayne. 
The  Northwestern  savage  chooses  his  own  time  and 
his  own  position,  and  he  retreats  from  it  at  his  own 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          53 

pleasure.  To  be  overcome,  he  must  be  outflanked 
or  kept  on  the  wing,  as  he  was  by  Wayne,  by  a  con- 
stant charge  of  the  bayonet.  To  provide  against  the 
contingency  of  the  enemy  assailing  his  flanks,  Wayne 
had  adopted  the  plan  of  forming  his  troops  at  open 
order,  so  as  to  extend  his  flanks  and  move  with 
celerity  in  the  woods.  These  principles  were  acted 
upon  in  the  subsequent  war  conducted  by  General 
Harrison,  and  may  be  now  regarded  as  the  approved 
mode  of  fighting  the  Northwestern  Indians.  A 
permanent  peace  with  the  Indians  was  the  fruit  of 
this  great  victory.  The  negotiations  commenced  in 
January  and  terminated  in  August,  1795.  Soon  after 
the  close  of  this  campaign,  Captain  Harrison  was 
intrusted  by  Wayne  with  the  command  of  Fort 
Washington,  where  he  was  directed  to  advise  the 
general  of  all  movements  connected  with  the  inva- 
sion of  Louisiana,  then  projected,  and  to  prevent  the 
forwarding  of  any  military  stores  by  the  French  agents. 
As  a  further  evidence  of  the  confidence  of  Wayne, 
he  specially  entrusted  Captain  Harrison,  with  his 
commands,  and  intentions  as  to  the  supply  of  the 
troops  intended  to  occupy  the  posts  theretofore  held 
by  the  British  on  the  Northern  frontier.  While  in 
the  command  of  Fort  Washington  (now  Cincinnati), 
Captain  Harrison  married  the  daughter  of  John  Cleves 
Symmes,  the  founder  of  the  Miami  settlements.  An 
anecdote  is  given  in  relation  to  the  marriage,  illus- 
trative of  the  independent  character  of  Captain 
Harrison.  On  the  proposal  to  Mr.  Symmes  for  his 
consent,  Harrison  was  asked  what  were  his  resources 
for  maintaining  a  wife  ?  Placing  his  hand  upon  his 
sword,  he  replied,  '  This,  sir,  is  my  support ! '  The 


54          BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

chivalry  and  undaunted  confidence  of  the  young  sol- 
dier at  once  obtained  the  approbation  of  Mr.  Symmes. 
Captain  Harrison  continued  in  the  command  of  Fort 
Washington  until  1797,  when,  upon  the  death  of 
General  Wayne,  he  resigned  his  commission  in  the 
army." 

The  succeeding  chapters  give  a  very  thorough 
account  of  his  being  appointed  Secretary  of  the 
Northwestern  Territory,  and  afterward  a  delegate  to 
Congress  ;  and  of  his  great  efforts  in  securing  the 
passage  of  a  law  putting  an  end  to  the  system  of 
selling  the  public  lands  in  large  tracts  to  speculators, 
contrary  to  the  interest  of  the  poor  man.  The  law 
met  with  a  great  deal  of  opposition,  both  in  the 
Senate  and  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  Har- 
rison had  such  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  evils  of 
the  old  law,  and  the  justice  of  the  proposed  one,  that 
he  finally  succeeded  in  securing  its  passage.  We 
are  informed  in  this  Life  of  Harrison,  that,  in  the 
subsequent  legislation  of  Congress  regulating  the 
sales  of  the  public  lands,  all  the  features  of  Har- 
rison's original  report  and  bill  upon  the  subject  were 
incorporated.  The  fourth  chapter  of  this  little  work 
contains  an  account  of  an  interview  between  Har- 
rison and  Tecumseh,  the  celebrated  Indian  chief,  and 
also  a  very  interesting  account  of  the  battle  of  Tip- 
pecanoe.  This  chapter  is  also  from  the  pen  of  Colonel 
Todd.  It  is  so  good  that  we  cannot  resist  repro- 
ducing it  here : 

"Between  the  years  1806  and  1811,  Governor 
Harrison's  duties,  as  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs, 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.  55 

were  delicate  and  responsible.  During  this  period, 
the  British  agents  were  powerfully  aided  in  their 
efforts  to  excite  the  Indians  to  hostility  against  the 
United  States  by  two  remarkable  individuals,  Te- 
cumseh  and  his  brother  Olliwachica,  better  known  as 
the  Prophet.  The  genius  of  the  one  and  the  prophet- 
ical character  of  the  other  drew  around  them  a  band 
of  desperate  followers,  who  finally  established  them- 
selves at  Tippecanoe.  The  treaty  made  at  Fort 
Wayne,  in  1809,  by  Governor  Harrison,  gave  offence 
to  Tecumseh,  it  being  in  violation  of  the  great  prin- 
ciple of  his  confederacy,  that  the  Indian  lands  were 
the  common  property  of  all  the  tribes,  and  could  not 
be  sold  without  the  consent  of  all.  In  August,  1810, 
he  invited  Tecumseh  to  visit  Vincennes,  to  have  the 
difficulties  adjusted.  The  chief,  attended  by  four 
hundred  warriors,  armed  with  war-clubs  and  toma- 
hawks, presented  themselves  at  the  appointed  time. 
It  was  at  this  council  that  Tecumseh  declared  the 
Governor's  statements  false,  and  sprung  to  his  arms ; 
his  example  being  followed  by  forty  of  his  warriors, 
who  were  present  at  the  conference.  The  firmness 
of  the  Governor,  and  the  final  termination  of  this  ex- 
traordinary interview,  must  be  familiar  to  the  reader. 
It  was  at  the  close  of  this  council,  when,  upon  Gov- 
ernor Harrison's  telling  him  that  he  would -refer  tke 
question  between  them  to  the  President,  that  Te- 
cumseh replied,  '  Well,  as  the  great  chief  is  to  deter- 
mine the  matter,  I  hope  the  Great  Spirit  will  put 
sense  enough  into  his  head  to  induce  him  to  direct 
you  to  give  up  this  land.  It  is  true,  he  is  so  far  off, 
he  will  not  be  injured  by  the  war;  he  may  sit  still  in 
his  town,  and  drink  his  wine,  while  you  and  I  will 


56          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

have  to  fight  it  out.'  The  Governor,  in  conclusion, 
told  Tecumseh  that  he  had  one  proposal  to  make, 
and  that  was,  in  the  event  of  a  war,  to  put  a  stop  to 
that  cruel  and  disgraceful  mode  of  warfare  which  the 
Indians  were  accustomed  to  wage  against  women  and 
children,  and  upon  their  prisoners.  To  this  proposi- 
tion, resulting  from  Governor  Harrison's  benevolent 

o 

forecast,  he  cheerfully  assented,  and  it  is  due  to  the 
memory  of  Tecumseh  to  add  that  he  faithfully  kept 
his  promise.  Tecumseh  left  Vincennes,  boldly  avow- 
ing his  determination  to  persevere  in  his  efforts  to 
combine  the  tribes,  on  the  principle  already  alluded 
to ;  and,  in  the  next  year,  he  visited  the  Southern 
Indians  for  this  purpose,  leaving  the  Prophet  in 
charge  of  the  party  at  Tippecanoe,  but  with  instruc- 
tions to  avoid  an  open  rupture  with  the  United  States 
durino-  his  absence.  In  the  summer  of  1811,  the 

r> 

danger  to  the  frontier  became  so  imminent  that  the 
President  placed  some  troops  under  the  command 
of  Governor  Harrison,  to  be  used  offensively,  how- 
ever, in  such  a  contingency  only  as  in  his  judgment 
he  might  deem  indispensably  necessary.  Governor 
Harrison  consulted  with  Governors  Howard  and 
Edwards,  of  Missouri  and  Illinois,  who  advised  the 
breaking  up  of  the  Prophet's  town,  or,  at  all  events, 
the  prevention  of  the  further  assemblage  of  Indians 
at  that  point.  The  Governor's  force  consisted  of 
regulars  and  militia,  a  small  part  of  the  latter  being 
from  Kentucky,  with  whom  came  Daviess,  Croghan, 
O'Fallon,  Shipp,  Meacle,  Edwards,  and  Saunders,— 
gallant  young  volunteers,  who  not  only  distinguished 
themselves  in  the  action  which  ensued,  but  performed 
a  brilliant  part  in  the  subsequent  war  with  Great 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          57 

Britain.  The  Governor  was  also  joined  by  Owen 
and  Wells,  both  celebrated  in  the  early  history  of 
Kentucky.  Passing  over  the  intermediate  details,  the 
Governor,  on  the  evening  of  the  6th  of  November, 
with  a  force  of  nine  hundred  men,  was  within  a  mile 
and  a  half  of  the  Prophet's  town,  where  he  halted  the 
army,  to  make  a  final  effort  to  prevent  the  necessity 
of  an  attack.  This  effort  proved  unavailing.  The 
army  then  marched  toward  the  village.  This  led  to 
a  conference  with  the  Indians,  who  announced  their 
pacific  intentions,  and  agreed  that  the  terms  of  peace 
should  be  settled  on  the  following  day.  A  halt  was 
ordered,  and  Majors  Waller  Taylor  and  Marston 
Clark,  and  Colonel  William  Piatt,  were  directed  to 
examine  and  select  a  suitable  spot  for  an  encamp- 
ment. The  two  former  reported  that  they  had  found 
a  place,  combining  all  that  could  be  desired,  on  the 
bank  of  a  small  stream,  nearly  surrounded  by  an 
open  prairie,  on  the  north  of  the  town.  On  this  spot, 
late  in  the  evening  of  the  6th,  the  army  was  encamped. 
The  details  of  the  severe  and  brilliant  action  which 
took  place  on  the  following  morning  are  familiar  to 
the  reading  public.  We  have  not  space  to  give 
them.  The  Indians  made  a  fierce  and  gallant  attack, 
but  were  as  gallantly  met,  and  finally  compelled  to 
retreat.  The  officers  and  soldiers  acted  with  great 
bravery,  and  were  specially  noticed  in  the  official  let- 
ter of  the  Commander-in-Chief.  The  number  of  men 
killed,  including  those  who  died  of  their  wounds,  was 
upwards  of  fifty;  the  wounded  were  more  than  double 
that  number.  The  loss  of  the  Indians,  in  killed,  was 
about  the  same  with  that  of  the  whites.  They  left 
thirty-eight  dead  on  the  field  of  battle.  Some  were 


58  BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

buried  in  the  town,  and  others,  it  is  supposed,  died  of 
their  wounds  subsequently.  The  force  of  Governor 
Harrison,  on  the  day  of  action,  amounted  to  about 
nine  hundred.  The  traders  estimated  the  Indian  force 
at  from  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  men.  Captain 
Wells,  the  Indian  agent,  assured  a  gentleman  from 
Ohio,  now  living,  that  several  of  the  Indians  engaged 
in  the  battle,  who  visited  Fort  Wayne  after  the  ac- 
tion, stated  their  number  to  have  been  near  twelve 
hundred,  and  that  the  proportion  of  wounded  was 
unusually  great.  It  is  an  act  of  justice  to  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  to  add,  that  a  ball  passed  through 
his  cravat,  bruising  his  neck,  and  another  struck  his 
saddle,  and  then  hit  his  thigh.  The  horse  on  which 
he  rode  was  severely  wounded  in  the  head.  No 
battle  ever  fought  in  the  United  States  has  been  more 
extensively  examined  or  severely  criticised  than  the 
battle  of  Tippecanoe.  Soon  after  its  occurrence,  the 
enemies  of  Governor  Harrison  severely  censured  his 
conduct,  and  charged  upon  him  that  he  permitted  the 
Indians  to  select  his  camping-ground,  and  was  taken 
by  surprise  on  the  morning  of  the  attack.  These 
charges,  although  generally  discredited,  and  made, 
by  irresponsible  persons,  called  out  the  testimony  of 
the  officers  and  men  engaged  in  the  action,  and  thus 
placed  all  the  facts  before  the  public.  In  regard  to 
the  first  of  these  charges,  General  Waller  Taylor,  of 
Indiana,  under  date  of  i5th  of  July,  1823,  says:  'The 
Indians  did  not  dictate  to  the  Governor  the  position 
to  encamp  the  army  the  night  before  the  battle  of 
Tippecanoe.  After  the  army  reached  the  Indian  town, 
in  the  afternoon,  perhaps  about  sunset,  the  Governor 
ordered  Major  Clark  and  myself  to  proceed  to  the 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          59 

left,  and  endeavor  to  find  a  suitable  place  for  en- 
campment ;  we  did  so,  and  discovered  the  place  upon 
which  the  battle  was  fought  the  next  morning ;  upon 
our  return  to  the  army,  we  reported  to  the  Governor 
our  opinion  about  the  place,  which  we  stated  to  be 
favorable  for  an  encampment.'  This  statement  is 
corroborated  by  Colonel  Wm.  Piatt,  late  of  Cincin- 
nati, who  was  also  in  the  action.  Major  Charles 
Larrabee,  a  brave  officer,  who  was  also  present,  says, 
under  date  of  13th  October,  1823:  'Three  officers, 
well  able  to  judge,  went  out  in  search  of  a  place,  and 
they  reported  the  one  taken  up.  The  situation  was 
such  that,  if  the  army  had  been  called  upon  to  make 
choice  of  a  place  to  fight  the  Indians,  I  venture  to 
say,  nine-tenths  would  have  made  that  their  selec- 
tion.' In  the  year  following,  General  Hopkins,  of 
Kentucky,  a  Revolutionary  officer,  while  on  an  expe- 
dition against  the  Peoria  towns  in  Indiana,  visited 
the  battle-ground  of  Tippecanoe,  and  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  spot  on  which  General  Harrison 
encamped  was  the  best  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Prophet's  town.  In  this  opinion  the  officers  of  this 
expedition  concurred ;  and  such,  we  are  authorized 
to  say,  has  been  the  fact  with  many  military  men 
who  have  since  visited  the  scene  of  action.  In  reply 
to  the  second  charge,  Joel  Cook,  Josiah  Snelling, 
R.  C.  Barton,  O.  G.  Burton,  Nathaniel  F.  Adams, 
Charles  Fuller,  A.  Hawkins,  George  Gooding,  H. 
Burchstead,  Josiah  D.  Foster,  and  Hosea  Bloodgood, 
all  of  them  officers  of  the  Fourth  Regiment,  United 
States  Infantry,  and  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  say, 
under  their  own  proper  hands:  'We  deem  it  our  duty 
to  state,  as  incontestable  facts,  that  the  Commander^ 


6O          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

in-Chief  throughout  the  campaign,  and  in  the  hour  of 
battle,  proved  himself  the  soldier  and  the  general ;  that 
on  the  night  of  the  action,  by  his  order,  we  slept  on  our 
arms,  and  rose  on  our  posts  ;  that,  notwithstanding  the 
darkness  of  the  night,  and  the  most  consummate  sav- 
age cunning  of  the  enemy  in  eluding  our  sentries,  and 
rapidity  in  rushing  through  the  guards,  we  were  not 
found  unprepared  ;  that  few  of  the  men  were  able  to 
enter  our  camp,  and  those  few  doomed  never  to  return; 
that,  in  pursuance  of  his  orders,  which  were  adapted 
to  every  emergency,  the  enemy  were  defeated  with  a 
slaughter  almost  unparalleled  among  savages.  Indeed, 
one  sentiment  of  confidence,  respect,  and  affection 
toward  the  Commancler-in-Chief,  pervaded  the  whole 
line  of  the  army,  any  attempt  to  destroy  which  we 
shall  consider  as  an  insult  to  our  understandings,  and 
an  injury  to  our  feelings.'  Major  Larrabee,  under 
date  of  Fort  Knox,  January  8th,  1812,  says:  'At  the 
commencement  of  the  action,  my  company  were  at 
rest  in  their  tents,  with  their  clothes  and  accoutre- 
ments on,  their  guns  lying  by  their  sides,  loaded,  and 
bayonets  fixed,  and  were  by  my  order  paraded  in  line 
'of  battle,  ready  to  meet  the  enemy  within  forty  sec- 
onds from  the  commencement  of  the  action,  all  of 
which  was  performed  one  or  two  minutes  before  a 
man  of  the  company  was  wounded.'  The  officers 
and  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  of  the 
militia  corps  (Margrave's  excepted)  of  Knox  County, 
in  Indiana,  who  served  in  this  campaign,  held  a  meet- 
ing in  Vincennes,  7th  December,  1811,  and  passed 
the  following  resolutions,  unanimously :  'That  it  is  a 
notorious  fact,  known  to  the  whole  army,  that  all  the 
changes  of  position  made  by  the  troops  during  the 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          6 1 

action  of  the  jth  ultimo,  and  by  which  the  victory 
was  secured,  were  made  by  the  direction  of  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief,  and  generally  executed  under  his 
immediate  superintendence.'  '  That  it  was  owing  to 
the  skill  and  VALOR  of  the  Commander-in-Chief,  that 
the  victory  of  Tippecanoe  was  obtained.'  'That  we 
have  the  most  perfect  confidence  in  the  Commander- 
in-Chief,  and  shall  always  feel  a  cheerfulness  in  serving 
under  him,  whenever  the  exigency  of  the  country  may 
require  it.'  General  Thomas  Scott,  of  Indiana,  under 
date  of  Vincennes,  July  25,  1823,  says:  'I  have 
thought,  and  still  think,  that  few  generals  would  have 
faced  danger  at  so  many  points  as  General  Harrison 
did  in  the  action  of  Tippecanoe.  Wherever  the  ac- 
tion was  warmest,  was  General  Harrison  to  be  found, 
and  heard  encouraging  and  cheering  the  officers  and 
soldiers.'  Mr.  Adam  Walker,  of  Keene,  New  Hamp- 
shire, a  printer  by  profession,  who  was  in  the  action, 
says,  in  his  published  journal :  'General  Harrison 
received  a  shot  through  the  rim  of  his  hat.  In  the 
heat  of  the  action  his  voice  was  frequently  heard  and 
easily  distinguished,  giving  his  orders  in  the  same 
calm,  cool,  and  collected  manner,  with  which  we  had 
been  used  to  receive  them  on  drill  or  parade.  The 
confidence  of  the  troops  in  the  General  was  unlim- 
ited.' General  John  O'Fallon,  now  residing  in  St.Louis, 
a  nephew  of  General  George  Rogers  Clark,  and  a 
gallant  officer  of  the  late  war,  having  distinguished 
himself  at  the  siege  of  Fort  Meigs  and  the  battle  of 
the  Thames,  in  a  late  speech,  at  a  public  meeting  in 
that  city,  in  speaking  of  General  Harrison,  says :  'At 
the  age  of  nineteen,  I  first  became  acquainted  with 
the  distinguished  patriot,  in  whose  behalf  we  have 


62          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

assembled,  and  having  been  by  his  side  through 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  late  war,  I  can  bear  testimony 
to  his  cool,  undaunted,  and  collected  courage,  as  well 
as  to  his  skill,  as  an  able,  efficient,  and  active  officer. 
After  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  which  has  thrown  so 
much  glory  over  our  country's  arms,  it  was  universally 
admitted,  that  General  Harrison  was  the  only  officer 
that  could  have  saved  the  army  from  defeat  and  mas- 
sacre' In  dismissingthis  part  of  our  subject,  it  is  proper 
to  say  that,  at  the  commencement  of  the  attack,  the 
Commander-in-Chief  had  risen,  and  was  seated  by  the 
fire  in  conversation  with  Wells,  Taylor,  Owen,  and 
Hurst,  the  three  latter  his  aids-de-camp,  and  the 
former  commanding  the  mounted  riflemen.  These 
individuals  had  been  awakened  by  their  commander, 
before  four  o'clock,  and  preparations  were  making  at 
the  moment  of  the  attack  for  the  troops  generally  to 
turn  out.  Additional  testimony  of  a  high  and  unim- 
peachable character  might,  if  necessary,  be  adduced 
to  repel  the  charge  of  Governor  Harrison's  having 
been  taken  by  surprise.  Another  charge  inculcated 
against  the  Commander-in-Chief,  is,  that  he  put  the 
gallant  Daviess  on  his  white  horse,  in  consequence 
of  which  that  officer  lost  his  life.  In  reply  to  this 
unfounded  allegation,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say,  that 
Major  Daviess  was  killed  while  bravely  charging  on 
foot,  and  that  he  was  not  on  General  Harrison's  horse, 
nor  any  other  horse,  during  the  engagement.  This 
charge  has  been  varied,  so  as  to  make  Owen  instead 
of  Daviess  the  individual  who  was  killed  on  General 
Harrison's  white  horse.  This  is  equally  untrue.  Owen 
was  killed  upon  his  own  white  horse,  and  was  not  at 
any  time  during  the  action  on  either  of  General  Har- 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          63 

rison's  horses.  The  facts,  in  this  case,  have  been 
stated,  distinctly,  by  the  Commander-in-Chief,  in  a 
letter  to  Dr.  Scott,  of  Frankfort,  Ky. :  '  I  had  in  the 
campaign,  for  my  own  riding,  a  gray  mare  and  a  sor- 
rel horse.  They  were  both  fine  riding-nags,  but  the 
mare  was  uncommonly  spirited  and  active.  I  gen- 
erally rode  them,  alternately,  day  and  day  about.  On 
the  day  we  got  to  the  town,  I  was  on  the  mare,  and 
as  it  was  our  invariable  rule  to  have  the  horses  saddled 
and  bridled  through  the  night,  the  saddle  was  kept 
upon  her ;  and,  like  other  horses  belonging  to  my 
family,  she  was  tied  to  a  picket  driven  into  the  ground, 
in  the  rear  of  my  marquee,  and  between  that  and  the 
baggage- wagon.  In  the  night  the  mare  pulled  up  the 
picket  and  got  loose.  The  dragoon  sentinel  awaken- 
ing my  servant  George,  the  latter  caught  the  mare, 
and  tied  her  to  the  wagon-wheel  on  the  back  side. 
When  the  alarm  took  place,  I  called  for  the  mare. 
George,  being  aroused  from  his  sleep,  and  confound- 
edly frightened,  forgot  that  he  had  removed  her  to 
the  other  side  of  the  wagon,  and  was  unable  to  find 
her.  In  the  mean  time,  Major  Taylor's  servant  had 
brought  up  his  horse.  The  major  observed  that  I  had 
better  mount  him,  and  that  he  would  get  another,  and 
follow  me.  I  did  so.  Poor  Owen  accompanied  me, 
mounted  upon  a  remarkably  white  horse.  Before  we 
got  to  the  angle  which  was  first  attacked,  Owen  was 
killed.  I,  at  that  time,  supposed  that  it  was  a  ball 
which  had  passed  over  the  heads  of  the  infantry  that 
had  killed  him  ;  but  I  am  persuaded  that  he  was  killed 
by  one  of  the  two  Indians  who  got  within  the  lines, 
and  that  it  was  extremely  probable  that  they  mistook 
him  for  me.  Taylor  joined  me  in  a  few  minutes  after, 


64          BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

mounted  on  my  gray  mare.  I  immediately  directed 
him  to  go  and  get  another.  He  returned  to  my 
quarters,  and  preferring  my  sorrel  horse  to  another 
of  his  own  that  was  there,  mounted  him,  and  we  thus 
continued  on  each  other's  horses  till  near  the  close  of 
the  action.  Being  then  with  both  my  aids-de-  camp, 
Taylor  and  Hurst,  in  the  rear  of  the  right  flank  line, 
the  fire  of  several  Indians  near  to  the  line  was  directed 
at  us.  One  of  their  balls  killed  the  horse  that  Taylor 
was  riding,  and  another  passed  through  the  sleeve  of 
his  coat ;  a  third  wounded  the  horse  I  was  riding  in 
the  head,  and  a  fourth  was  very  near  terminating  my 
earthly  career.'  In  December,  1811,  the  Legislative 
Council  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Indiana 
Territory  presented  an  address  to  Governor  Harrison 
in  reference  to  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  in  which  they 
bear  testimony  to  his  '  superior  capacity,'  '  integrity,' 
and  'other  qualities  which  adorn  the  mind  in  a  super- 
lative degree.'  In  December,  1811,  the  Hon.  John 
J.  Crittenden  moved  the  following  Resolution  in  the 
Legislature  of  Kentucky,  which,  after  being  fully  dis- 
cussed, was  carried  with  only  two  or  three  dissenting 
votes :  'Resolved,  That,  in  the  late  campaign  against 
the  Indians  on  the  Wabash,  Governor  Wm.  Henry 
Harrison  has,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Legislature,  be- 
haved like  a  hero,  a  patriot,  and  a  general ;  and  that,  for 
his  cool,  deliberate,  skilful,  and  gallant  conduct  in  the 
late  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  he  well  deserves  the  warm- 
est thanks  of  the  nation.'  This  Resolution  was  ap- 
proved by  Governor  Scott.  President  Madison,  on 
the  1 8th  of  December,  181 1,  in  a  message  to  Congress, 
says,  in  regard  to  this  battle :  '  While  it  is  deeply 
lamented  that  so  many  valuable  lives  have  been  lost 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES   S.  TODD.          65 

in  the  action  which  took  place  on  the  yth  ultimo, 
Congress  will  see  with  satisfaction  the  dauntless  spirit 
and  fortitude  displayed  by  every  description  of  the 
troops  engaged,  as  well  as  the  collected  firmness  which 
distinguished  their  commander  on  an  occasion  re- 
quiring the  utmost  exertion  of  valor  and  discipline.' 
M'Affee,  in  his  History  of  the  Late  War,  says :  'After 
much  altercation,  by  which  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe 
was  fought  over  again,  and  fully  investigated,  in  all 
the  public  circles  of  the  Western  country,  the  public 
opinion  preponderated  greatly  in  favor  of  the  Gov- 
ernor. All  the  material  accusations  of  his  enemies 
were  disproved ;  and,  after  all  the  testimony  had 
been  heard,  the  common  opinion  seemed  to  be,  that 
the  army  had  been  conducted  with  prudence,  and  that 
the  battle  had  been  fought  as  well  as  it  could  have 
been  by  any  general,  considering  the  time  and  man- 
ner of  the  attack.'  Dawson,  in  his  Life  of  Harrison, 
says:  'The  battle  of  Tippecanoe  had  a  different 
character  from  any  one  that  had  ever  before  been 
fought  with  the  Indians.  A  victory  had  never  been 
obtained  over  them  where  the  force  on  both  sides  was 
nearly  equal ;  and  in  no  battle  that  had  ever  before 
been  fought  with  them,  were  there  so  many  killed  in 
proportion  to  the  number  engaged.'  The  same  writer 
adds :  '  That  mutual  confidence,  which  ought  always 
to  subsist  between  the  commander  of  an  army  and 
the  troops  commanded,  perhaps  never  had  been  in  a 
higher  degree  manifested  than  at  the  battle  of  Tip- 
pecanoe. Wherever  his  presence  was  required  during 
the  action,  there  was  the  Governor  to  be  found.  The 
plan  he  had  laid  down  previous  to  the  battle  was  so 
well  understood  by  his  men,  that,  notwithstanding  the 

9 


66          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

enemy  was  not  really  expected  that  night,  within  less 
than  two  minutes  after  the  first  fire  was  heard  every 
man  was  at  his  post.'  Judge  Hall,  himself  an  officer 
in  the  late  war  with  Great  Britain,  in  speaking  of  the 
battle  of  Tippecanoe,  says :  '  As  far  as  any  commander 
is  entitled  to  credit,  independent  of  his  army,  he 
(General  Harrison)  merits  and  has  received  it.  He 
shared  every  danger  and  fatigue  to  which  his  army 
was  exposed.  In  the  battle  he  was  in  more  peril  than 
any  other  individual ;  for  he  was  personally  known  to 
every  Indian,  and  exposed  himself  fearlessly  on  horse, 
back,  at  all  points  of  the  attack,  during  the  whole  en- 
gagement. Every  important  movement  was  made 
by  his  express  order.'  Finally,  we  take  leave  of  this 
subject,  in  the  language  of  the  same  eloquent  writer  : 
'The  field  of  Tippecanoe  has  become  classic  ground  ; 
the  American  traveller  pauses  there  to  contemplate 
a  scene  which  has  become  hallowed  by  victory ;  the 
people  of  Indiana  contemplate  with  pride  the  battle- 
ground on  which  their  militia  won  imperishable  honor, 
and  their  infant  State  became  enrolled  in  the  ranks 
of  patriotism.' ' 

This  work  formed  the  basis  of  all  the  succeeding 
Lives  of  Harrison.  Colonel  Todd  included  in  it  the 
peroration  of  the  General's  famous  speech  on  Kosci- 
usko,  and  an  extract  from  his  speech  on  Jackson's 
conduct  in  the  Seminole  War.  This  last  contains  the 
passage  so  often  quoted  about  the  age  of  deification 
being  past,  and  about  Jackson  living  in  the  songs 
of  the  virgins,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  country 
remaining  immortal.  This  speech  is  remarkable  for 
its  bold  criticism  on  Jackson's  policy,  and  its  defence 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES   S.  TODD.         67 

of  such  of  the  acts  of  that  distinguished  citizen  as 
Harrison  thought  right.  It  is  gratifying  to  me  to 
know  that  Harrison  did  not  think  favorably  of  the  in- 
stitution of  slavery,  —  that  great  blot  upon  the  fair 
fame  of  our  country.  He  did  not  grapple  with  this 
question,  as  did  the  statesmen  of  a  later  period;  but 
he  acknowledged  the  evil,  and  said  that  we  must  wait 
"  the  slow  but  certain  progress  of  those  good  prin- 
ciples which  are  everywhere  gaining  ground,  and 
which  assuredly  will  ultimately  prevail." 

Colonel  Todd  also  gives  us  Harrison's  opinion  on 
duelling,  another  wretched  and  barbarous  practice, 
not  yet  wholly  without  its  advocates  in  many  parts  of 
our  country.  General  Harrison  said  that  "the  wealth 
and  honor  of  the  world  would  not  tempt  him  to  level 
a  pistol  at  the  breast  of  a  man  whom  he  had  injured." 
He  also  said  that,  while  he  was  in  command  of  the 
Northwestern  army,  he  declared  his  determination  to 
punish,  by  all  means  that  the  military  laws  placed 
in  his  hands,  any  injury,  or  even  insult,  which  should 
be  offered  by  the  superior  to  the  inferior  officer,  and 
that  during  his  entire  command  he  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  knowing  that  not  a  single  duel  had  been 
fought  in  his  army,  or  even  a  challenge  given.  He 
said,  in  1838,  in  a  letter  to  a  gentleman  from  New 
Jersey,  who  had  addressed  him  on  the  subject:  "In 
relation  to  my  present  sentiments,  a  sense  of  higher 
obligations  than  human  laws  or  human  opinions  can 
impose,  has  determined  me,  never,  on  any  occasion, 
to  accept  a  challenge  or  seek  redress  for  a  personal 
injury  by  a  resort  to  the  laws  which  compose  the 
code  of  honor." 

These   passages   from   the   Life  of   Harrison,  by 


68          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

Colonel  Todd  and  Mr.  Drake,  are  very  interesting, 
and  embrace  nearly  all  the  important  events  in  the 
life  of  that  great  and  good  man  up  to  the  time  of  his 
nomination  for  the  Presidency  in  1840,  The  book 
well  deserved  the  large  circulation  it  had,  and  should, 
I  think,  be  published  again. 

Colonel  Todd  wrote  the  concluding  chapter,  in 
which  Harrison's  claims  to  the  office  of  President  of 
the  United  States  are  ably  set  forth  : 

"  Our  narrative,"  says  the  writer,  in  conclusion, 
"of  the  civil  and  military  services  of  Harrison  is  now 
closed.  Brief  and  imperfect  as  it  may  appear,  it  is 
sufficient  to  establish  his  claim  to  a  high  rank  as  a 
civilian  and  a  general.  He  has  been  thoroughly  tried 
in  the  council  and  in  the  field,  and  in  every  situation 
has  proved  himself  equal  to  the  circumstances  by 
which  he  has  been  surrounded.  No  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  it  is  believed,  has  ever  filled  so  many 
civil  and  military  offices  as  the  subject  of  this  memoir; 
and  certainly  no  one  has  ever  been  more  uniformly 
successful  in  discharging  the  trusts  confided  to  him. 
If  it  be  true  that  to  plan  and  carry  on  a  successful 
campaign  '  requires  an  almost  intuitive  sagacity, 
great  powers  of  combination,  with  prudence,  caution, 
promptness,  and  energy,  combined  with  perfect  self- 
reliance  and  self-control,'  it  may  be  assumed  that 
General  Harrison,  who  is  admitted  to  possess  these 
attributes,  is  an  accomplished  civil  ruler;  inasmuch 
as  these  are  precisely  the  qualities  which  fit  an  indi- 
vidual for  acting  efficiently  upon  men  and  things  as 
they  exist  around  them.  But  there  are  other  and 
more  practical  evidences  of  his  capacity  as  a  states- 


BIOGRAPHY    OF   COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.  69 

man.  More  than  twenty  years  of  his  life  have  been 
spent  in  various  important  civil  offices,  many  of  them 
requiring  inflexible  integrity,  firmness,  intelligence, 
and  wisdom.  To  prove  that  he  possesses  these  vir- 
tues in  a  high  degree,  it  is  only  necessary  to  recur 
to  his  acts  as  Governor  of  Indiana,  as  Indian  Commis- 
sioner, and  as  a  member  of  the  national  legislature. 
The  messages,  letters,  and  speeches,  called  forth  by 
these  different  situations,  are  not  only  fine  specimens 
of  composition,  but  exhibit  great  accuracy  of  informa- 
tion, Consistency  of  political  principle,  and  maturity 
of  judgment.  Rising  above  all  sectarian  or  party 
influence,  his  views  were  at  once  national  and  deeply 
imbued  with  the  love  of  liberty;  his  voice  and  influ- 
ence have  ever  been  exerted  in  sustaining  the  cause 
of  freedom  in  this  as  well  as  other  kindred  lands.  In 
his  military  capacity,  General  Harrison  is  not  less 
distinguished.  As  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  North- 
western army,  he  was  entrusted  with  more  extensive 
and  responsible  powers  than  have  been  confided  to 
any  officer  in  our  country,  Washington  alone  excepted. 
The  command  assigned  to  him  embraced  an  immense 
extent  of  territory,  with  a  frontier  of  several  hundred 
miles  in  length,  stretching  along  the  lakes  (then  in 
possession  of  the  enemy),  with  harbors,  inlets,  and 
rivers,  admirably  suited  to  favor  their  attacks  upon 
our  scattered  border  settlements.  To  defend  this 
extended  line  of  frontier,  the  commander's  forces 
were  chiefly  undisciplined  militia  —  entirely  wanting 
experience  in  the  field  —  engaged  for  short  terms  of 
service,  and  held  in  obedience  more  by  personal  in- 
fluence than  the  force  of  authority.  But  it  was  not 
to  the  defence  alone  of  this  district  that  General  Har- 


7O          BIOGRAPHY    OF   COLONEL   CHARLES   S.  TODD. 

rison's  duties  were  confined.  He  was  directed  by  his 
Government  to  act  offensively  against  the  enemy,  by  re- 
taking Detroit,  and  capturing  the  uppermost  Canada, 
defended,  as  it  was,  by  experienced  British  officers 
and  soldiers,  aided  by  a  large  body  of  Northwestern 
Indians.  Detroit  and  Canada  were  separated  from 
General  Harrison's  source  of  troops,  munitions  of 
war,  and  provisions,  by  a  trackless  and  swampy  wil- 
derness, without  roads,  and  presenting  almost  in- 
superable obstacles  to  the  transportation  of  army 
supplies,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  was  precisely  the 
region  of  country  best  adapted  to  the  peculiar  mode 
of  warfare  practised  by  the  bold  and  ferocious  Indians. 
Notwithstanding  these  manifold  difficulties,  in  about 
one  year  from  the  time  when  he  was  invested  with 
the  chief  command  of  the  Northwestern  army,  General 
Harrison  drove  the  enemy  from  his  extended  military 
district,  retook  Detroit,  defeated  the  combined  army 
of  Proctor  and  Tecumseh,  on  the  Thames,  conquered 
the  uppermost  Canada,  and  passed,  as  a  victorious 
chieftain,  down  to  the  seat  of  war  on  the  Niagara  fron- 
tier. In  many  points,  the  military  career  of  Harrison 
bears  a  strong  analogy  to  that  of  Washington.  The 
same  extent  of  discretionary  powers  and  responsibil- 
ities ;  the  same  difficulties  in  procuring  supplies  of 
troops  and  provisions  ;  and,  in  part,  the  same  obstacles 
in  the  nature  of  the  country  to  be  traversed,  marked 
the  history  of  both.  They  never  hazarded  the  grand 
result  by  a  minor  enterprise,  however  tempting ; 
they  sought  no  laurels  by  the  wanton  sacrifice  of  their 
soldiers,  but  regulated  all  their  movements  with  a 
single  aim  to  the  public  good.  Both  exercised  the 
extensive  powers  with  which  they  were  invested 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          71 

without  any  invasion  of  the  laws  or  the  rights  of  the 
citizen,  and  both  retired  to  the  peaceful  pursuits  of 
agriculture  when  the  object  which  called  them  to 
the  field  had  been  effected ;  finally,  to  both  may  be 
justly  awarded  the  valor  of  Marcellus,  the  caution  of 
Fabius,  and  the  disinterestedness  of  Cincinnatus. 
Inflexible  integrity  and  a  self-sacrificing  patriotism 
may  be  considered  the  crowning  virtues  of  General 
Harrison's  character.  These  virtues  have  marked 
his  career  in  the  council  and  in  the  field,  in  youth  and 
in  age.  When  asked  by  what  means  he  was  enabled 
so  successfully  to  gain  the  love  and  obedience  of  the 
militia,  who  followed  his  banner  during  the  late  war, 
he  replied :  '  By  treating  them  with  affection  and 
kindness  —  by  always  recollecting  that  they  were  my 
fellow-citizens,  whose  feelings  I  was  bound  to  respect, 
and  by  sharing  with  them,  on  every  occasion,  the 
hardships  which  they  were  obliged  to  undergo.' 
Throughout  the  whole  of  his  military  campaigns,  he 
shared  with  his  soldiers  in  all  their  fatigues,  dangers, 
and  privations.  We  were  lately  assured  by  a  member 
of  his  military  family  in  the  campaign  of  1813,  that  the 
table  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  was  often  not  as 
well  supplied  with  provisions  as  those  of  the  common 
soldiers;  and  that  he  has  frequently  seen  the  General 
sitting  by  the  fire  roasting  a  piece  of  beef,  and  then 
eating  it  without  salt  or  bread.  On  one  occasion, 
after  marching  all  day  through  a  beech  bottom  cov- 
ered with  mud  and  water,  without  their  baggage  or 
any  provisions,  the  General,  by  way  of  preventing  his 
troops  from  being  discouraged,  sat  down  upon  a  log, 
wrapped  in  his  cloak,  —  the  rain  falling  fast,  and  the 
gloom  of  a  night  in  the  wilderness  only  broken  by  a 


72          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

few  glimmering  camp-fires,  —  and  then  gaily  calling 
upon  the  officers  to  sing  songs,  he  spread  content 
and  cheerfulness  throughout  the  whole  detachment. 
By  examples  such  as  these,  he  gained  the  confidence 
and  affection  of  the  crowds  of  volunteer  militia,  who 
were  attracted  to  his  standard  not  less  by  their  patri- 
otism as  by  the  distinguished  reputation  of  the  Com- 
mander-in  -  Chief.  Since  his  retirement  from  the 
army,  he  has  been  the  chief  representative  of  the 
military  class  of  our  citizens  in  the  region  in  which 
he  lives.  Those  who  served  under  him  in  the  late 
war  make  frequent  pilgrimages  to  North  Bend ; 
while  the  old  soldiers,  who  fought  under  Harmar, 
and  St.  Clair,  and  Wayne,  not  only  throng  his  hos- 
pitable fireside,  but  look  to  General  Harrison,  above 
all  other  men,  to  present  their  claims  to  Congress 
for  land  or  pensions  on  the  score  of  past  services 
and  sacrifices.  While  Governor  of  Indiana  and 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  during  a  period  of 
twelve  years,  he  disbursed  at  his  discretion,  and  with 
but  few,  if  any,  checks,  very  large  sums  of  money ; 
and  in  the  course  of  the  late  war  he  drew  on  the 
Treasury  for  more  than  six  hundred  thousand  dollars 
for  military  purposes.  Yet  General  Harrison  retired 
from  the  public  service  poorer  than  he  entered  it, 
and  has  never  been  a  defaulter  to  his  Government. 
There  are  but  two  instances,  it  is  believed,  in  which 
even  a  whisper  of  suspicion  against  the  purity  of  his 
official  conduct  has  been  heard.  One  of  these,  made 
by  an  army  contractor,  was  investigated  in  Congress, 
and  the  charge  triumphantly  refuted.  The  other 
occurred  while  Governor  of  Indiana.  A  foreigner 
residing  in  that  Territory,  by  the  name  of  Mclntosh, 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES   S.  TODD.          73 

and  possessing  very  considerable  wealth,  having  taken 
some  offence,  charged  Governor  Harrison  with  having 
defrauded  the  Indians  in  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne, 
made  in  the  year  1809.  The  accused  very  properly 
concluded  that  it  was  due  to  his  own  reputation,  not 
less  than  to  the  interests  of  the  general  Government, 
that  a  charge  of  this  kind  should  be  fully  investigated 
in  a  court  of  justice.  He,  therefore,  instituted  a  suit 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Territory,  and,  after  a 
full  and  fair  trial  before  a  judge  and  jury  of  admitted 
impartiality  between  the  parties,  a  verdict  was  ren- 
dered against  the  defendant  for  four  thousand  dollars. 
The  evidence  was  so  conclusive  in  favor  of  .Governor 
Harrison,  that  Mclntosh  did  not  attempt  to  press  the 
truth  of  the  charge  upon  the  jury,  but  only  sought  to 
lessen  the  amount  of  damages  by  pleading  some 
matters  in  extenuation  of  his  conduct.  When  the 
property  of  the  defendant  was  levied  upon  to  satisfy 
the  judgment,  it  was  bought  in  by  an  agent  of  the 
Governor,  who  immediately  distributed  one-third  of  it 
among  the  orphan  children  of  his  fellow-citizens  that 
had  died  in  battle ;  and  then  restored  the  remainder 
to  Mclntosh  himself.  It  has  been  well  observed  that 
'  no  language  of  praise  can  add  to  the  truth  and  force 
of  the  simple  beauty  of  such  an  example  of  magnanim- 
ity, disinterestedness,  and  generosity.'  Some  years 
since  it  was  discovered  that  a  large  tract  of  land, 
adjoining  Cincinnati,  which  had  been  sold  long  pre- 
viously for  a  very  small  sum,  under  an  execution 
against  the  original  proprietor  of  the  Miami  country, 
could  not  be  held  under  this  sale  in  consequence  of 
some  defective  proceedings  in  court.  The  legal  title 
to  this  tract,  now  immensely  valuable,  was  vested  in 


10 


74         BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

Mrs.  Harrison  and  another  individual,  as  heirs-at-law. 
Immediately  upon  being  informed  of  the  situation  of 
this  property,  General  Harrison  procured  the  con- 
sent of  the  co-heir,  and  joined  him  in  releasing  to  the 
purchasers  the  whole  of  this  land,  without  claiming 
any  other  consideration  than  the  few  hundred  dollars 
which  constituted  the  difference  between  the  actual 
value  at  the  time  when  sold,  and  the  amount  paid  at 
the  sheriff's  sale.  In  1804,  the  Governor  of  Indiana 
was,  upon  the  suggestion  of  President  Jefferson,  made 
ex-officio  Governor  of  '  Upper  Louisiana.'  Under  the 
impression  that  it  was  sound  policy  to  convince  the 
inhabitants  of  the  newly-acquired  territory  that  they 
had  lost  nothing  by  the  change,  Governor  Harrison 
declined  receiving  the  fees  he  was  entitled  to  by  law, 
although  those  for  Indian  licenses  alone  would  have 
brought  him  several  thousand  dollars.  At  the  same 
time,  the  proprietor  of  St.  Louis  offered  him,  for  a 
mere  nominal  sum,  an  undivided  moiety  of  three- 
fourths  of  the  town  of  St.  Louis,  and  the  adjoining 
lands,  if  he  would  assist  in  building  up  that  place. 
Such,  however,  was  his  nice  sense  of  honor,  that  he 
declined  the  offer,  fearing  it  might  be  said  that  he 
had  used  his  official  station  to  promote  his  private 
interest.  The  property  thus  voluntarily  refused,  and 
which  might  have  been  accepted  without  any  violation 
of  principle,  is  probably  worth  at  this  time  a  million 
of  dollars.  While  acting  as  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  Northwestern  army,  General  Harrison's  expenses, 
owing  to  the  extent  of  his  command,  and  the  amount 
of  company  he  was  obliged  to  entertain  at  headquar- 
ters, so  far  exceeded  his  pay,  that  Tie  was  compelled, 
before  the  close  of  the  war,  to  sell  a  valuable  tract 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES   S.    TODD.          75 

of  land  to  meet  the  current  demands  upon  his  purse. 
Soon  after  his  resignation  in  the  army,  while  the 
claims  of  a  large  family  were  pressing  upon  him, 
General  Harrison  had  made  up  his  mind  to  ask  an 
appointment  for  one  of  his  sons  at  West  Point.  Be- 
fore the  application  was  made,  however,  a  poor  boy, 
the  child  of  a  neighbor,  who  had  not  the  means  of 
obtaining  an  education,  made  a  personal  appeal  to 
the  General  to  procure  him  a  place  in  this  institution. 
He  immediately  waived  the  claims  of  his  own  son, 
and  obtained  a  warrant  for  this  poor  lad,  who  was 
educated  at  the  academy,  and  is  now  a  distinguished 
citizen  of  Indiana,  and  takes  great  pleasure  in  bearing 
testimony  to  the  noble  disinterestedness  of  his  patron. 
Similar  instances  of  integrity  and  generosity  might 
be  multiplied,  had  we  further  space  to  narrate  the  inci- 
dents in  the  life  of  the  veteran,  whose  patriotic  policy 
founded,  and  whose  skilful  valor  defended,  the  vast 
Northwest.  The  literary  talent  and  attainment  of 
General  Harrison  are  uncommonly  good.  He  is  a 
sound  scholar,  not  only  familiar  with  the  passing  liter- 
ature of  the  day,  but  possessing  a  familiar  acquaint- 
ance with  ancient  history,  especially  with  the  classic 
annals  of  Greece  and  Rome.  His  own  writings  and 
conversation  are  forcibly  illustrated  by  allusions  to 
these  works,  and  frequently  bear  evidence  of  a  mind 
richly  imbued  with  the  philosophy  of  history.  The 
productions  of  his  pen,  which  are  thrown  off  without 
an  effort,  are  at  once  smooth,  strong,  and  perspicuous, 
and  written  with  remarkable  simplicity  and  beauty  of 
style.  As  a  speaker,  he  is  animated,  fluent,  and  forci- 
ble ;  correct  in  his  language,  and  peculiarly  ready  in 
bringing  the  resources  of  a  cultivated  understanding 


76          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

to  bear  upon  any  given  subject.  Both  in  body  and 
mind,  General  Harrison  enjoys  a  'green  old  age.' 
His  step  is  firm,  his  spirits  buoyant,  his  conversation 
sprightly,  instructive,  and  rich  in  anecdote.  His 
countenance  is  expressive  of  kindness  and  genuine 
philanthropy ;  and  his  dark,  piercing  eye  has  lost  little, 
if  any,  of  the  fire  and  vivacity  of  his  more  youthful 
days.  The  strength  of  his  memory  and  the  accuracy 
of  his  judgment  remain  unimpaired.  One  of  the  latest 
productions  of  his  pen,  written  but  a  few  weeks  since, 
is  strongly  characterized  by  the  force,  raciness,  and 
nice  discrimination,  which  belong  to  the  meridian  of  his 
life.  In  temperament,  warm  and  impulsive  ;  in  man- 
ners, plain  and  unassuming ;  in  his  habits,  generous 
and  hospitable,  General  Harrison  combines,  in  an 
eminent  degree,  the  manly  frankness  of  a  soldier, 
with  the  sturdy  independence  of  a  farmer." 

The  campaign  closed  in  a  blaze  of  glory.  Harrison 
was  elected  by  one  of  the  largest  majorities  ever 
given  to  any  President.  He  was  very  popular  with 
the  people  of  the  West,  many  of  whom  to  this  day 
love  to  recall  around  their  hearthstones  the  incidents 
of  that  famous  campaign.  The  terms  Log  Cabin  and 
Hard  Cider,  which  were  inscribed  upon  the  Whig 
banners,  transparencies,  etc.,  originated  in  this  way. 
General  Harrison's  house  at  North  Bend,  Ohio,  or  at 
least  a  part  of  it,  was  one  of  the  original  log  cabins 
built  by  the  early  settlers  of  that  country,  and  covered 
with  clap-boards.  The  story  became  current  that  the 
great  chieftain  lived  in  the  plainest  manner  in  his  log 
cabin,  and  that  his  latch-string  was  always  hung  on 
the  outside,  and  that  the  humblest  man  in  the  country 


BIOGRAPHY  OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.  77 

could  enter  whenever  he  pleased,  and  would  always 
find  a  hearty  welcome  and  a  mug  of  cider  ready  for 
him.  General  Harrison  was  a  very  temperate  man, 
and  said,  I  think,  in  one  of  his  speeches,  that  the 
strongest  liquor  he  ever  drank  was  a  mug  of  hard 
cider.  Anyhow,  the  story  became  popular,  and  pic- 
tures representing  a  log  cabin  and  barrels  of  cider 
were  emblazoned  on  the  banners  and  transparencies 
of  the  Whigs,  which  were  carried  triumphantly  in 
their  processions,  in  the  midst  of  the  wildest  cheers, 
in  which  all  classes  joined,  the  high  and  low,  and  rich 
and  poor. 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  more  than  a 
thousand  and  one  songs  were  written  in  praise  of 
the  log  cabin  and  "  Old  Tippecanoe,"  as  Harrison 
was  familiarly  called. 

The  following  is  a  verse  from  one  of  the  songs 
which  any  number  of  persons  now  living  have  helped 
to  sing,  or  had  dinned  in  their  ears  : 

"Hurrah  for  the  Log  Cabin,  chief  of  our  choice! 

For  the  Old  Indian  Fighter,  hurrah ! 
Hurrah  !  and  from  mountain  to  valley  the  voice 

Of  the  people  re-echoes  hurrah ! 
Then  come  to  the  ballot-box,  boys !  Come  along ! 

He  never  lost  battle  for  you : 
Let  us  down  with  oppression  and  tyranny's  throng, 

And  up  with  Old  Tippecanoe  ! " 


78          BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

General  Harrison  expresses  his  Gratitude  for  Colonel  Todd's  Services  — 
His  Appointment  as  Minister  to  Russia  —  Success  of  his  Mission  — 
Felicitous  Speech  of  Colonel  Todd  at  a  Banquet  in  St.  Petersburg  — 
Motley  and  Maxwell  in  his  Official  Family  —  Colonel  Todd's  Visit  to 
the  Interior  of  Russia  —  Important  Despatches. 

GENERAL  HARRISON  was  very  grateful  for 
the  services  Colonel  Todd  rendered  him  during 
the  campaign.  And  he  often  said  that  he  owed,  in  a 
great  part,  his  triumph  to  him,  and  on  one  occasion, 
while  discussing  with  his  Cabinet  the  appointments 
and  duties  of  the  administration,  said  to  Mr.  Web- 
ster: "  I  shall  not  be  satisfied  with  the  appointments 
of  the  Department  of  State,  unless  a  first-class  posi- 
tion is  given  to  my  old  friend  and  companion-in-arms, 
Colonel  Todd."  As  an  instance  of  the  regard  in 
which  Colonel  Todd  was  held  by  General  Harrison's 
family,  it  may  be  added,  that,  when  General  Harrison 
was  taking  leave  of  his  family  for  his  inauguration  at 
, Washington,  Mrs.  Harrison,  putting  her  arms  around 
him,  exclaimed:  "-General,  I  want  you  to  take  care  of 
our  dear  friend,  Colonel  Todd;  he  loves  you  so  much'' 
Colonel  Todd  accompanied  General  Harrison  to 
Washington,  and  remained  with  him  as  a  member  of 
his  family  during  the  short  interval  that  he  occupied 
the  Presidential  chair ;  and,  as  the  last  sad  office,  ac- 
companied his  remains  to  North  Bend,  and,  by  request 
of  Mrs.  Harrison,  selected  the  spot  for  his  burial. 

On  the  death  of  Harrison,  President  Tyler,  desir- 
ing to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  Harrison,  appointed 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          79 

Colonel  Todd  envoy  -  extraordinary  to  St.  Peters- 
burg. While  in  Russia,  Colonel  Todd  elicited  the 
most  flattering  compliments  from  the  Administration. 
Mr.  Webster  was  particularly  lavish  in  the  praise  he 
bestowed  on  him.  The  Emperor  of  Russia  showed 
him  many  marks  of  his  esteem,  and  would  have  him 
attend  his  parades,  where  often  more  than  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  troops  exhibited  their  skill 
and  discipline.  Colonel  Todd  induced  the  Emperor 
to  secure  the  services  of  the  distinguished  engineer, 
Mr.  Whistler,  for  the  construction  of  railroads  in  the 
empire.  Colonel  Todd  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Imperial  Agricultural  Society,  which  is  the  only  com- 
pliment of  the  kind,  I  believe,  that  has  ever  been  paid 
to  an  American  citizen.  Colonel  Todd  was  one  of  the 
best  speakers  at  a  banquet  I  ever  heard.  After-din- 
ner speeches  are  seldom  readable,  on  account  of  the 
subjects  which  present  themselves  being  so  hack- 
neyed that  it  is  almost  impossible  for  a  speaker  to 
say  anything  new  in  reference  to  them. 

The  following  speech  of  Colonel  Todd's,  delivered 
at  the  celebration  of  the  English  Diplomatic  Club,  is, 
I  think,  wholly  free  from  objections  of  this  kind.  It 
was  extensively  copied  by  the  English  and  American 
papers,  and  Mr.  Webster  spoke  of  it  as  being  in 
very  fine  taste.  The  President  of  the  Club,  Count 
Worontzord  Daschhoff,  after  having  proposed  the 
health  of  the  Emperor,  offered  a  toast  to  the  nations 
in  unity  with  Russia.  Colonel  Todd  then  said : 

"  I  rise  to  address  the  President  with  mingled  emo- 
tions of  pleasure  and  regret, —  pleasure,  for  the  com- 
pliment you  have  conferred  in  asking  me  to  respond 


8O          BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

to  the  toast  to  the  nations  in  unity  with  Russia ;  and 
regret,  on  beholding  the  vacant  chair  of  Baron  Sle- 
glitz,  whose  animated  eyes  gave  evidence  a  year  ago 
of  the  delight  he  enjoyed  in  this  anniversary.  He 
was  the  Rothschild  of  Russia.  If  there  are  any 
Englishmen  here,  I  thank  them  in  the  name  of  the 
descendants  of  those  Englishmen  who  first  planted 
a  government  of  laws  in  Massachusetts  and  in  Vir- 
ginia, the  mother  of  nearly  all  the  American  Presidents. 
I  congratulate  England  and  America  on  the  recent 
treaty  that  has  reconciled  their  principal  difficulty. 
This  treaty  will  give  new  vigor  to  their  commercial 
relations.  I  congratulate  them  on  being  preserved 
from  war,  which,  in  its  progress,  might  have  involved 
even  gigantic  Russia,  whose  colossal  arms  reach  over 
Europe,  Asia,  and  America.  May  England  and 
America  be  rivals  only  in  the  race  for  true  glory. 

"  If  there  are  any  Swedes  here,  I  thank  them  in  the 
name  of  the  descendants  of  those  that  first  civilized 
New  Jersey,  whose  gallant  and  intellectual  sons  ren- 
der her  worthy  of  such  worthy  sires.  If  there  are 
any  Frenchmen  here,  I  thank  them  in  the  name  of 
the  descendants  of  the  Huguenots,  who  fled  from  the 
Old  World  after  the  revolution  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
and  formed  a  home  in  the  New  World,  and  imparted 
their  noble  character  to  South  Carolina,  the  Palmetto 
State  of  the  South. 

"If  there  are  any  Dutchmen  here,  I  thank  them  in 
the  name  of  the  descendants  of  those  Hollanders 
who  first  peopled  the  Empire  State,  New  York ;  one 
of  whose  sons,  Washington  Irving,  now  adorns  the 
American  Diplomatic  service  as  Minister  to  Spain, 
and  delights  all  Europe  with  sketches  of  England  — 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.          8 1 

enlightened,  free,  and  powerful  England,  who  would 
place  his  name  to  the  remotest  posterity  in  the  same 
wreath  of  fame  that  encircles  the  brow  of  her  own 
Addison. 

"If  there  are  any  Germans  here,  I  thank  them  in  the 
name  of  their  German  brethren  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
Ohio,  and  of  the  beautiful  city  of  Cincinnati,  which, 
in  respect  to  the  mechanic  arts,  internal  trade,  archi- 
tectural taste,  and  noble  institutions  of  literature  and 
benevolence,  may  be  justly  regarded  as  the  Moscow 
of  the  New  World.  If  there  are  any  Russians  here, 
I  thank  them  in  the  name  of  my  forefathers,  who 
were  indebted  to  the  friendship  of  the  great  Catharine 
in  the  Armed  neutrality  of  1 780.  I  thank  them  in  the 
name  of  my  compatriots  of  1814,  who  were  under 
obligations  to  the  liberal  views  and  good  offices  of 
the  Emperor  Alexander  of  glorious  memory. 

"It  is  indeed  a  delightful  task,  to  dwell  upon  the  re- 
lation existing  between  Russia  and  the  United  States. 
It  is  something  worthy  of  the  contemplation  of  other 
Powers,  to  see  two  great  nations,  the  most  extensive 
in  territory  and  resources  in  the  Old  and  the  New 
World,  always  living  in  peace. 

"Ancient  and  modern  history  present  no  such 
bright  examples.  To  Russia  and  America  the  tem- 
ple of  Janus  has  ever  been  closed.  May  it  never  be 
opened.  I  conclude  with  offering  an  apology  for 
having  probably  exhausted  your  patience.  When  my 
beloved  country  is  complimented  in  a  foreign  land, 
my  heart  is  full,  and  out  of  the  fulness  of  the  heart 
the  mouth  speaketh.  I  propose  the  health  of  the 
hereditary  Grand  -  Duke.  May  he  emulate  in  his 
career  the  destiny  which  his  august  father  has  ful- 


82          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

filled  in  combining  the  energy  of  Peter  with  the  mag- 
nanimity of  Alexander." 

At  the  time  Colonel  Todd  was  appointed  to  the 
embassy  at  Russia,  John  Lathrop  Motley  was  chosen 
the  First  Secretary  of  Legation.  Mr.  Motley  had 
travelled  in  Europe,  and  had  passed  a  year  at  the 
University  of  Gottingen,  and  a  year  at  Berlin,  and  he 
proved  a  delightful  companion  and  a  warm  personal 
friend  of  Colonel  Todd's.  Motley  had  published,  the 
year  previous,  a  very  interesting  novel,  entitled  Mor- 
ton s  Hope,  or  the  Memoirs  of  a  Young  Provincial,  and  he 
was  anxious  to  make  himself  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  Russia  and  the  Russians,  for  the  purpose  of  writ- 
ing a  book  on  the  subject.  The  salary  of  the  Secretary 
of  Legation  at  St.  Petersburg  is  very  small,  and 
Mr.  Motley  was  not  able  to  support  his  family  with 
it ;  and,  after  a  short  residence  there  of  about  two 
months,  he  returned  to  the  United  States;  but  during 
that  short  time  he  became  so  well  acquainted  with 
the  customs  of  the  country,  that  he  was  enabled  to 
prepare  one  of  the  most  valuable  essays  on  Peter  the 
Great  that  has  ever  been  written. 

Mr.  Maxwell,  another  able  and  accomplished  author, 
was  appointed  to  the  place  vacated  by  Mr.  Motley. 
Mr.  Maxwell  accompanied  Colonel  Todd  to  the  inte- 
rior of  Russia  during  the  great  fair  at  Nishnei  Novo- 
grodek. 

This  was  the  first  instance  of  an  American  Minister 
ever  having  penetrated  into  the  interior  of  the  Em- 
pire further  than  Moscow;  and  Colonel  Todd  gave  a 
highly  interesting  account  of  the  trip  in  a  despatch 
to  the  State  Department.  Colonel  Todd  mentioned, 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.          83 

that,  after  having  secured  the  necessary  passport,  he 
set  out  from  St.  Petersburg  on  the  iSth  of  August, 
and  extended  his  journey  as  far  as  Nishnei,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Oka  with  the  Volga,  and  from  thence 
to  Kazan,  the  ancient  Tartar  capital,  situated  a  short 
distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Kama.  If  he  had 
travelled  two  days  further,  he  would  have  reached  the 
western  limits  of  Asia.  I  have  often  heard  Colonel 
Todd  speak  of  the  pains  he  took  to  interest  the  peo- 
ple on  his  route  in  America,  and  to  encourage  among 
them  a  friendly  feeling  toward  us.  Colonel  Todd  also 
witnessed  the  terrible  conflagration  at  Kazan,  which 
destroyed  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  entire  city. 
This  was  one  of  the  most  extensive  fires  in  the  world, 
equalled  probably  only  by  the  recent  conflagration 
at  Chicago.  Colonel  Todd,  in  one  of  his  descriptions 
of  the  annual  fair  at  Nishnei,  said  that  more  than  three 
hundred  thousand  strangers  had  gathered  there  from 
all  parts  of  the  world.  He  said  that  it  was  a  rare 
spectacle  to  see  so  many  people  speaking  so  many 
different  languages.  I  remember  his  telling  me  how 
much  interested  he  was  in  seeing  in  the  interior  of 
Russia  the  cotton  and  rice  from  our  own  country  by 
the  side  of  that  grown  in  Bukaria. 

Colonel  Todd's  despatches  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
while  at  Russia  are  very  interesting  and  instructive. 
In  his  letters  to  M.  Bodisco  and  Count  Nesselrode 
he  showed  how  utterly  impossible  it  was  for  him  to 
allow  anything  to  escape  his  attention  that  concerned 
the  interest  of  the  United  States.  The  following 
despatch,  in  reference  to  our  commerce  with  Russia, 
addressed  to  that  accomplished  scholar  and  diplo- 
matist, Count  Nesselrode,  explains  itself: 


84          BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

"THE  UNITED  STATES  LEGATION  AT  ST.  PETERSBURG. 

"  The  undersigned  pays  his  respect,  etc.,  to  his  Excel- 
lency Count  Nesselrode,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Empire,  and 
has  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  his  Excellency's 
note  of  the  23d  June  (O.  S.),  together  with  its  enclosure, 
consisting  of  a  despatch  of  that  date  to  his  Excellency  M. 
Bodisco,  his  Imperial  Majesty's  Minister  Plenipotentiary  at 
Washington,  which  his  Excellency  the  Chancellor  is  pleased 
to  regard  as  a  full  reply  to  the  note  of  the  undersigned  of 
1 2th  June,  '24,  in  relation  to  the  right  of  the  United  States 
to  participate  in  the  recent  favor  granted  to  English  com- 
merce. 

"  The  undersigned  regrets  to  perceive,  from  the  general 
tenor  of  that  despatch,  an  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the 
Imperial  Ministry  to  extend  the  favor  to  the  United  States. 
He  the  more  regrets  the  result  from  the  special  ground  on 
which  his  Excellency  the  Chancellor  has  predicated  the  opin- 
ion that  the  United  States  cannot,  in  this  case,  insistupon  the 
application  of  the  stipulations  of  the  thirteenth  article  of  the 
existing  treaty  between  Russia  and  the  United  States  ;  his 
Excellency  asserting  the  right  of  the  Imperial  Government 
to  deny  this  privilege  to  the  United  States  upon  the  plea 
that  the  concession  to  England  was  not  gratuitous,  but 
was  a  part  return  for  certain  reductions  in  the  tariff  of  her 
Britannic  Majesty  favorable  to  Russian  exports. 

"  The  undersigned,  in  adverting  to  the  admission  made 
by  his  Excellency  in  the  recent  interview,  that  this  favor 
was  without  condition,  does  not  doubt  that  his  Excellency 
had  reference  in  that  remark  to  the  terms  of  the  Ukase, 
containing,  as  it  does,  no  allusion  to  the  modifications  in 
the  English  tariff.  The  undersigned,  however,  did  not  un- 
derstand his  Excellency  as  maintaining  in  that  interview, 
nor  in  the  despatch  to  M.  Bodisco,  that  these  British  modi- 
fications were  avowed  by  that  Government  to  be  condi- 
tional upon  the  fact  of  his  Majesty's  Government  adopting 
equivalent  regulations  in  favor  of  Great  Britain.  On  the 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          85 

contrary,  the  undersigned  supposes  that  these  changes  in  the 
English  tariff  were  made  without  cor-litions;  for  if  they  had 
been  made  conditional,  he  presumes,  the  Ukase  would  have 
contained  a  reference  to  such  conditions  in  addition  to  the 
other  motives  stated  in  that  document.  In  the  absence, 
then,  of  such  conditions  upon  the  face  of  the  Imperial  Ukase, 
or  of  the  contingency  supposed  that  the  British  regulations 
were  not  conditional,  the  undersigned  deems  it  due  to  the 
interest  of  his  country,  designed  to  be  secured  by  the  thir- 
teenth article  of  the  existing  treaty,  not  to  admit  the  sound- 
ness of  the  position  which  his  Excellency  has  advanced  in 
the  despatch  to  M.  Bodisco.  He  is  equally  at  a  loss  to  per- 
ceive the'applicability  of  the  suggestion  that  the  exports  of 
Russia  to  the  United  States  do  not  find  a  ready  sale  in  con- 
sequence of  the  heavy  duties  in  the  American  tariff.  No 
treaty,  or  public  law,  prevents  either  nation  from  regulating 
its  duties  on  imports  in  such  mode  as  to  it  may  seem  right 
and  proper.  In  the  exercise  of  this  right,  the  United  States 
have  only  sanctioned  the  principle  and  practice  of  Russia 
in  similar  cases.  Both  nations  desire,  very  justly,  to  protect 
their  own  industry;  and  if  the  United  States,  by  a  protec- 
tive duty,  are  making  progress  in  securing  even  a  partial 
supply  at  home  of  hemp  and  its  fabrics,  his  Majesty's  Gov- 
ernment has  exercised  a  similar  right  in  the  heavy  duties 
upon  tobacco,  amounting  to  a  prohibition  in  the  direct 
trade.  The  right  to  impose  countervailing  duties  is  ad- 
mitted as  belonging  to  both  nations.  But  the  undersigned 
cannot  perceive  the  propriety  of  the  Imperial  Ministry 
treating  the  duties  on  Russian  products  in  the  United 
States  as  authority  for  granting  a  special  favor  to  England, 
which,  upon  its  face,  is  without  conditions,  but  which  is 
attempted  by  subsequent  explanations  to  be  regarded  as 
conditions,  and  therefore  not  subject  to  the  stipulations  of 
the  thirteenth  article  of  the  existing  treaty.  His  Excellency 
the  Chancellor  has  suggested  that  this  favor  to  England 
is  an  experiment  for  this  season,  made  with  the  design  to 
foster  the  native  industry  of  Russia  in  the  establishments 


86  BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

for  refining  sugars  ;  and  that  it  is,  therefore,  impracticable 
to  enter  into  negotiations  on  this  subject,  until  there  shall 
be  time  afforded  to  test  the  result  of  the  experiment.  The 
undersigned  cannot  suppose  it  was  the  intention  of  his 
Excellency  to  advance  the  opinion  that  a  favor  granted  to 
England  does  not  enure  to  the  benefit  of  the  United  States, 
under  the  thirteenth  article  of  the  existing  treaty,  merely  be- 
cause it  is  an  experiment  for  this  season  of  navigation;  nor 
does  he  suppose  that  the  recent  changes  in  the  English 
tariff  are  designed  only  as  an  experiment  for  this  season. 
On  the  contrary,  he  supposes  that,  if  they  were  made  per- 
manent without  reference  to  a  repeal  at  any  specified  time, 
the  favor  to  England  must  become  permanent,  and  thus  this 
ground  for  delay  in  extending  the  favor  to  the  United  States 
during  this  season  looses  the  force  which  his  Excellency  the 
Chancellor  has  been  pleased  to  attach  to  it. 

"  The  undersigned  repeats  his  solicitude  to  be  able  to  trans- 
mit to  his  Government  an  answer  to  his  note  of  the  I2th 
of  June,  O.  S.,  of  a  character  more  favorable  to  American 
interest  than  that  contained  in  the  despatch  to  M.  Bodisco ; 
for  he  is  aware  that  the  season  for  navigation  is  passing 
away  too  rapidly  to  expect  that  any  shipments  can  be  made 
during  this  year  from  America,  if  they  are  to  depend  upon 
the  result  of  explanations  between  his  Excellency  M.  Bodisco 
and  the  Department  of  State  at  Washington. 

"  In  the  hope  that  the  Imperial  Ministry  may,  upon  a 
review  of  this  subject,  extend  to  the  United  States  the  favor 
already  granted  to  England,  the  undersigned  avails  him- 
self of  the  occasion  to  renew  to  his  Excellency  the  Chan- 
cellor an  assurance  of  his  perfect  respect. 

C.  S.  TODD." 

"1 8th  July,  1845." 

The  despatch  of  Colonel  Todd  to  M.  Bodisco,  in 
June,  1845,  as  to  tne  importation  of  crushed  sugar,  is 
a  very  valuable  document,  and  may  appropriately  be 
introduced  here : 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.  87 

"ST.  PETERSBURG,  23d  June,  1845. 

"  Your  Excellency  is  aware  that  the  manufacture  of  sugar 
from  the  cane  has,  for  a  number  of  years,  formed  a  branch 
of  industry  with  us,  which  our  commercial  legislation  al- 
ways protects.  From  a  regard  to  the  interests  of  our 
native  refineries,  raw  sugar  alone  is  allowed  to  enter  by  the 
tariff;  and  all  sugar  of  the  cane  which  has  passed  through 
any  degree  of  purification,  excluded.  This  system  has 
been  maintained  until  now.  The  disasters  suffered  during 
the  past  year  by  the  plantations  of  Cuba,  however,  have  led 
the  Imperial  Government  to  consider  the  means  that  may 
be  necessary  to  prevent  too  great  a  rise  in  the  price  of 
sugar ;  and,  by  the  Ukase  of  ipth  of  March,  the  importation 
of  suga'r  half  refined,  bruised,  or  in  lumps,  commonly  called 
(in  commerce)  crushed  lumps,  has  been  allowed.  At  the 
same  time,  in  order  to  protect  native  manufactures,  they  are 
admitted  only  under  certain  restrictions ;  they  must  be  im- 
ported for  the  use  of  refineries  alone,  and  pay  the  same  duties 
as.  raw  sugar,  viz.,  three  roubles,  eighty  copitcs,  silver,  per  pound. 
The  importation,  furthermore,  is  limited  to  the  harbor  of 
St.  Petersburg  and  to  the  duration  of  the  navigation  of 
1845.  Besides,  even  this  temporary  admission  has  not 
been  generally  granted,  but  is  confined  to  the  sugar  lumps 
coming  from  England.  Aside  from  the  interests  of  our 
refineries,  this  last  arrangement  has  been  induced  by  the 
steps  taken  on  the  part  of  the  British  Government  for  sev- 
eral years  past,  to  obtain  for  English  commerce  the  right 
of  importing  lumps,  but  especially  by  the  facilities  and 
marked  deductions  of  duties  which  the  new  English  tariff 
offers  to  Russian  commerce. 

"  The  preference  conceded  to  England,  though  but  tem- 
porary, seems  to  have  alarmed  the  .American  commerce. 
The  United  States  Minister  has  come  to  converse  with  me 
on  the  subject;  citing,  among  others,  the  stipulations  of  the 
treaty  of  6-iSth  December,  1832,  which  assures  to  Amer- 
ican commerce  in  Russia  the  same  rights  and  privileges 
enjoyed  by  the  most  favored  nations.  I  have  hastened 


88          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

to  present  to  Mr.  Todd  the  explanations  best  suited 
to  exhibit  the  nature  and  object  of  the  arrangements  in 
question.  Not  only  are  they  provisory  and  adopted  as  a 
simple  experiment,  but  they  do  not  seem  to  us  to  be  op- 
posed to  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  cited  by  Mr.  Todd. 

"  These  stipulations  have  never  been  lost  sight  of.  On 
the  contrary,  we  think  they  have  been  constantly  and  scru- 
pulously observed.  American  commerce  has  always  met 
with  the  most  favorable  treatment  from  us,  and  the  prin- 
ciple of  reciprocity  consecrated  in  the  treaty  has  never 
experienced,  and  could  never  experience,  the  slightest  in- 
fraction at  our  hands.  But  the  eleventh  article  of  the  treaty 
reserves  to  us  expressly  the  right  of  granting  to  other  na- 
tions any  special  favor  in  point  of  commerce  and  naviga- 
tion, provided  this  favor  be  made  common  to  the  United 
States,  and  the  latter  enjoy  it  gratuitously,  if  the  concession 
be  gratuitous,  or  by  means  of  the  same  compensations,  if 
conditional. 

"Now  the  admission  of  crushed  lumps  coming  from 
England  has  not  been  gratuitously  conceded.  It  is,  as 
already  said,  a  just  return  for  the  arrangement  of  the  new 
English  tariff.  The  Imperial  Government  has,  therefore, 
thought  itself  justified  in  making  this  concession  to  Eng- 
land, with  the  reserve,  if  need  be,  of  having  an  understanding 
with  the  Government  of  the  United  States  on  the  conditions 
under  which  the  American  commerce  could  be  admitted  to 
participate  in  the  same.  Even  now  would  we  be  ready  to 
enter  into  negotiations  on  this  matter,  if,  as  observed  above, 
the  arrangement  concerning  crushed  lumps  were  not  a  tem- 
porary and  provisory  measure. 

"The  year  1845  will,  doubtless,  be  sufficient  to  show 
how  far  it  will  be  necessary  to  prolong  the  duration  or  ex- 
tend the  application  of  this  measure.  Experience  alone, 
however,  will  be  able  to  influence  the  Imperial  Government 
in  deciding  on  this  matter.  Yet,  if,  without  too  great 
injury  to  native  industry,  the  possibility  of  admitting  con- 
ditionally half-refined  sugars  should  be  thereby  demon- 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.          89 

strated,  the  Russian  Government  would  not  fail  to  take 
into  due  consideration  the  interest  and  wishes  of  American 
commerce.  The  Government  of  the  United  States,  on  the 
other  hand,  will  no  doubt  lend  its  aid  to  facilitate  the 
realization  of  these  friendly  arrangements,  manifesting,  in 
return,  due  regard  to  the  interests  of  Russian  commerce, 
and  the  wishes  that  might  be  expressed  by  us. 

"  Too  heavy  duties  are  imposed  on  several  Russian  pro- 
ducts in  the  United  States  to  allow  of  their  being  sold  with 
any  advantage  there.  A  reduction  of  duties  on  these  ob- 
jects would,  therefore,  take  away  one  of  the  obstacles  which 
still  hinder  the  entire  development  of  commercial  relations 
between  the  two  countries. 

"  I  'invite  you,  Sir,  to  make  explanations  in  this  sense  to 
the  Cabinet  at  Washington." 


QO          BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Colonel  Todd  returns  to  Frankfort  —  Delivers  a  Lecture  on  Russia  — • 
Withdraws  from  a  Contest  for  the  Governorship  of  Kentucky  —  Accepts 
the  Office  of  Commissioner  under  the  Mexican  Treaty  —  Advocates  a 
Railroad  to  the  Pacific. 

COLONEL  TODD'S  mission  to  Russia  expired 
in  1846,  and  he  returned  to  the- United  States, 
and  resumed  the  practice  of  law  at  Frankfort,  Ky. 
A  short  time  after  his  return  he  was  invited  to  deliver 
a  lecture  before  the  Frankfort  Atken&um,  on  the 
Russian  Empire. 

The  lecture  may  be  appropriately  introduced  here 
entire.  It  is  one  of  the  best  condensed  accounts 
that  I  have  ever  read  concerning  that  empire : 

"RUSSIA:  HER  RESOURCES,  RELIGION,  LITERATURE,  ETC. 

"The  Empire  of  Russia,  in  her  vast  extent  and  resources, 
in  her  history  and  distinctive  character,  is  new  to  us,  as  she 
is  indeed  to  many  of  the  nations  of  the  Old  World.  She 
reaches  from  the  Frozen  Ocean  to  the  Black  Sea,  and  from 
the  Baltic  and  Gulf  of  Bothnia  to  the  Ural  Mountains,  sep- 
arating Europe  from  Asia,  and  thence  through  Siberia  to 
the  Indian  Ocean.  She  exceeds  in  territory  all  the  nations 
of  Europe.  Throughout  her  vast  extent,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Ural  Mountains,  she  presents  one  continuous  plain, 
embracing  every  variety  of  climate  and  production,  with  a 
soil  so  rich  and  diversified  that  hemp,  and  many  of  the 
tropical  fruits,  and  nearly  every  species  of  grain,  except 
Indian  corn,  may  be  found  among  her  exports. 

"  In  considering  this  subject,  I  may  be  led  to  speak  very 
briefly  of  her  history,  religion,  sciences,  fine  arts,  literature, 


BIOGRAPHY  OF  COLONEL  CHARLES  S.  TODD.    91 

commerce,  agriculture,  manufactures,  revenue,  debt,  ex- 
ports, navy,  army,  climate,  nobility,  merchants,  and  peas- 
ants ;  resources,  government,  police,  and  Emperor.  The 
most  cursory  examination  of  these  various  aspects  of  the 
subject  would  alone  fill  a  volume.  It  is  my  present  purpose 
to  give  them  only  a  passing  glance. 

"  Of  her  History.  —  Prior  to  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great, 
who  assumed  the  title  of  Autocrat  and  Emperor,  with  abso- 
lute power,  the  ancient  dynasty  resided  at  Moscow  under 
the  title  of  Grand-Duke  or  Czar,  with  princes  of  the  Grand 
Duchy  exercising  regal  powers  in  the  different  govern- 
ments or  provinces,  somewhat  on  the  plan  of  the  petty 
sovereignties  in  Germany.  At  a  very  remote  period,  all 
of  ftie  country  beyond  Poland  was  under  the  Tartar  au- 
thority, with  their  capital  at  Kazan  on  the  Volga,  seven 
hundred  miles  beyond  Moscow.  The  religion  of  that 
day  was  Mohammedan,  and  it  was  not  until  some  eight 
hundred  years  ago  that  the  Greek  religion  was  introduced 
into  Russia  by  the  baptism  of  the  Grand-Duchess  Olga, 
at  Constantinople.  Peter,  by  the  establishment  of  his 
capital  on  the  Baltic,  brought  his  nation,  made  up  of  many 
tribes,  into  contiguity  with  Europe,  and  Russia  thus  ceased 
to  be  an  Asiatic  power.  Karamzin,  her  great  historian, 
has  described,  and  Poushkin,  her  great  poet,  has  sung  the 
ancient  heroes  of  the  country ;  but  the  story  of  Russia 
is  little  known  beyond  the  days  of  her  first  great  law- 
givers in  the  persons  of  Ivan  and  Alexis.  Napoleon,  on 
witnessing,  as  he  advanced  into  Russia,  the  destruction  of 
her  resources  and  the  burning  of  her  ancient  capital  by  the 
self-sacrificing  patriotism  of  her  own  subjects,  affected  to 
speak  of  them  as  the  modern  Scythians ;  but,  at  this  day, 
the  memory  of  Rostopchin,  the  governor  of  Moscow,  is 
regarded  with  the  veneration  due  to  a  national  benefactor. 
Catharine  the  Second  endeavored  to  carry  out  the  system 
of  Peter,  and  rendered  our  patriotic  fathers  noble  service 
by  her  armed  neutrality  of  1780;  and,  in  the  war  of  1812, 
the  enlightened  Alexander  placed  our  country  under  last- 


92          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

ing  obligation  by  the  offer  of  his  mediation  with  Great 
Britain.  While  we  were  struggling  as  Colonies,  the  great 
Peter  was  founding  his  city  of  palaces,  and  bringing  East- 
ern magnificence  into  contact  with  the  energy  and  arts  of 
Europe.  Yet  it  is  a  memorable  coincidence,  that,  when 
Peter,  the  great  Northern  light,  descended  below  the  horizon 
in  1725,  Washington,  the  bright  star  of  the  West,  arose  in 
1732,  to  become  also  the  founder  of  a  great  nation,  and  to 
present  to  distant  ages  'an  immortal  example  of  true  glory' 
destined  to  '  shine  on,  like  the  path  of  the  just,  more  and 
more  into  the  perfect  day.' 

"  The  best  history  of  Russia  is  that  by  Karamzin,  brought 
up  to  the  close  of  Alexander's  reign.  Interesting  histories 
of  the  War  with  Napoleon  have  been  written  by  Bowtourlin 
and  Danilefsky.  Bell's  history  is  chiefly  an  epitome  of 
Karamzin.  The  most  impartial  account  of  travels  in  that 
empire  is  by  Elliott,  an  Englishman  ;  also,  in  Letters  from 
the  Baltic,  by  an  English  lady;  in  Travels  by  Kohl,  a  Ger- 
man ;  and  in  Lectures  by  our  excellent  Dr.  Baird. 

"  The  Greek  is  the  religion  of  Russia.  Of  the  sixty 
millions  of  subjects,  upwards  of  forty  millions  are  of  the 
national  faith.  The  Emperor  stands  in  the  same  relation 
to  the  Greek  that  the  Pope  does  to  the  Romish  Church. 
Until  Peter  assumed  to  himself  all  ecclesiastical  as  well  as 
political  power,  the  head  of  the  Church  was  called  the 
Patriarch,  with  archimandrites,  metropolitans,  and  bishops. 
I  refer  to  an  article  published  in  the  Presbyterian  Herald,  at 
Louisville,  about  the  first  of  January  last,  as  showing  a 
comparison  between  the  doctrines  held  in  the  Eastern  or 
Greek,  and  the  Western  or  Romish  Church.  All  Protestants 
uill  recognize  the  Greek  articles  as  according  more  nearly 
with  their  own  ;  while  the  Emperor  treats  the  Romish  as 
not  orthodox.  The  forms  in  the  Greek  services  are  even 
more  imposing  than  those  in  the  Romish,  and  the  feast- 
days  are  equally  numerous.  The  period  of  Lent  is  kept 
with  great  strictness,  especially  during  the  first  and  last 
week.  The  festivities  in  the  Carnival  are  very  boisterous. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.  93 

The  ceremonies  on  Easter  morning  are  peculiar,  and  par- 
take largely  of  the  courtesy  belonging  to  Eastern  manners. 
To  be  a  witness  of  five  hundred  Russian  men  kissing  each 
other  in  the  streets  on  that  day  might  perhaps  be  a  com- 
pensation to  some  tastes  for  a  trip  to  that  distant  region. 
There  are  no  seats  in  a  Greek  church  ;  all  the  worshippers 
stand  up,  and,  during  particular  parts  of  the  service  by  the 
priests,  the  people  cross  themselves  and  bow,  which  is  re- 
peated from  time  to  time  when  some  more  solemn  occasion 
leads  them  to  kneel  down  and  place  their  foreheads  on  the 
floor.  They  are  coming  in  and  going  out  during  the  two 
hours'  service.  None  but  vocal  music  is  employed,  and 
this  KS  rendered  solemn  and  touching  from  a  choir  of  twenty 
or  thirty  boys  from  eight  to  twenty  years  of  age;  each 
chanting  one  note.  The  priest  usually  reads  with  his  back 
to  the  congregation,  and  the  service  is  performed  inside  of 
a  partition  of  lattice-work,  perhaps  like  the  inner  veil  of  the 
Temple.  While  the  Emperor  is  jealous  of  proselytes  being 
made  from  his  own  Church,  and  all  officers  under  the  Gov- 
ernment are  required  to  take  the  sacrament  once  a  year 
in  some  church,  his  policy  is  above  all  praise  in  allowing 
freedom  of  conscience  and  of  public  worship  by  every  sect, 
Catholics,  Jews,  Mohammedans,  and  Protestants ;  and  it  is 
a  fact  creditable  to  the  liberality  of  a  monarch  possess- 
ing unlimited  power  in  Church  and  State,  that,  during  my 
residence  in  Russia,  four,  if  not  more,  of  his  principal  min- 
isters—  General  Count  Clein  Michel,  Minister  of  Ways  and 
Communications ;  Count  Cancrire,  Minister  of  Finance ; 
Count  Nesselrode,  Chancellor  of  the  Empire  and  Secretary 
of  Foreign  Affairs ;  and  General  Count  Benkendorf,  Chief 
of  the  Military  Staff  and  of  the  Secret  Police  —  were  all 
Protestants,  and  among  the  ablest  men  in  his  Cabinet. 

"  The  institutions  for  the  promotion  of  science  are  enti- 
tled to  high  commendation.  The  records  of  the  Imperial 
Academy  of  Sciences  show  a  valuable  addition  to  the 
department  of  universal  knowledge.  Their  researches,  by 
land  and  by  sea,  are  worthy  of  a  place  by  the  side  of  those 


94          BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

prosecuted  by  Great  Britain,  France,  and  America.  The 
observatory,  near  St.  Petersburg,  is  an  honor  to  the  Impe- 
rial taste,  and  contains  the  largest  telescope  in  the  world. 
It  was  manufactured  at  Munich,  in  Bavaria.  The  Museum 
connected  with  the  Academy  of  Sciences  is  admirably  ar- 
ranged, with  choice  specimens  from  every  quarter  of  the 
globe ;  among  them  the  remains  of  the  Mammoth  found 
sixty  years  ago  on  the  ice  in  the  River  Lena,  the  Mississippi 
of  Siberia.  The  Imperial  Botanical  Garden  is  a  proud  monu- 
ment of  the  public  taste  for  this  interesting  science.  The 
plants  occupy  a  space  of  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  and  have 
been  collected,  at  vast  expense,  from  every  climate  of  the 
globe.  Rich  contributions  have  been  made  from  Brazil,  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope;  from  Australia,  and  from  the  Himalaya 
Mountains  in  Asia.  A  visitor  to  this  great  panorama  of 
nature  will  be  gratified  by  an  inspection  of  the  green  and 
black  tea  trees  of  China,  of  all  the  acacias  of  the  East,  of 
all  the  fruit-trees  of  the  tropics,  and  even  the  cane  of  the 
Mississippi.  The  collection  would  be  unrivalled,  if  it  had 
that  most  magnificent  of  evergreens,  our  own  noble  mag- 
nolia. The  Imperial  Library  contains  four  hundred  thousand 
volumes  and  twenty  thousand  manuscripts,  among  them  a 
letter  from  Washington,  whom  they  regard  as  the  Amer- 
ican Peter. 

"The  system  of  Public  Instruction  is  entrusted  to  a  min- 
ister of  state.  There  are  five  universities  in  the  Empire : 
at  St.  Petersburg,  Moscow,  Kazan,  on  the  Volga,  Keif,  near 
the  Black  Sea,  and  at  Dorpat,  near  Riga,  on  the  Baltic. 
The  colleges  for  boys,  and  institutes  for  girls,  are  sustained 
on  the  most  liberal  plan.  There  is  a  college  connected  with 
the  Foreign  Office,  in  which  those  destined  for  the  diplomatic 
service  are  taught  the  Asiatic  languages.  It  is  this  system, 
and  their  aptitude  to  acquire  foreign  languages,  that  gives 
such  efficiency  to  the  representatives  of  the  Empire  abroad. 
The  edifice  devoted  to  the  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  conveys 
a  just  impression  of  the  public  taste;  it  contains  a  rich  col- 
lection, not  only  of  foreign  and  ancient  paintings,  but  many 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          95 

of  great  merit  by  native  artists.  The  Russians  are  distin- 
guished as  copyists.  Their  genius  is  particularly  displayed 
in  the  erection  of  the  Bronze  Horse ;  and  the  Equestrian 
Statue  of  Peter,  in  the  St.  Isaac's  Square,  is  the  most  cele- 
brated effort  of  the  kind  in  Europe.  The  collection  of 
paintings  in  the  Hermitage,  connected  with  the  winter 
palace,  claims  the  attention  of  the  traveller  as  much  as  the 
collections  at  Berlin,  Dresden,  Versailles,  and  the  Louvre. 

"  The  Imperial  Arsenal,  at  Tsarsko-Celo,  is  a  remarkable 
curiosity  ;  the  armor  of  the  last  six  centuries  is  there  dis- 
played;  the  object  of  deepest  interest  in  the  collection 
being  the  celebrated  Tippoo-Saib  sitting  upon  the  stuffed 
skin  of  his  identical  war-horse,  the  most  perfect  model  of 
that  animal  extant. 

"In  touching  briefly  upon  the  Fine  Arts,  I  may  add  that 
too  much  praise  cannot  be  awarded  to  Peter  the  Great,  for 
inculcating  among  his  subjects,  by  his  own  noble  example, 
the  importance  of  the  mechanic  arts  to  the  welfare  of  a 
State.  He  visited  Holland,  to  study  the  trade  of  a  ship- 
builder ;  and  I  saw,  near  the  church  of  the  Ancient  For- 
tress, where  the  remains  of  the  Imperial  family  are  deposited, 
and  near  the  Mint,  in  which  the  precious  metals  of  Siberia 
are  coined,  the  first  boat  which  that  great  artist  constructed, 
and  with  which  he  navigated  the  Baltic.  This  practical 
knowledge  became  the  means  of  several  victories  over  the 
Turks,  in  which  the  Czar*  himself  was  the  admiral.  I  saw, 
also,  the  first  log  cabin  he  had  erected  on  the  island  where 
the  veneration  of  his  people  has  preserved  the  clothes  and 
the  implements  with  which  he  followed  the  trade  of  a  cob- 
bler, presenting  to  his  subjects  the  same  brilliant  contrast 
of  public  usefulness  to  the  lazy  career  of  the  nobility,  which 
the  great  Roger  Sherman  (the  shoemaker  of  Connecticut) 
exhibited  to  the  aristocracy  of  our  own  country.  But  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind,  that  the  handicraft  specimens  of 
the  great  mechanic  were  only  the  trifles  of  his  industry; 
that  these  did  not  interfere  with  his  gigantic  energy,  as  a 
statesman,  in  consolidating  various  tribes  into  one  govern- 


g6          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

ment,  and  in  giving  character  and  nationality  to  the  whole 
mass  of  what  were  then  his  barbarous  subjects;  nor  did  his 
enlightened  plans  of  policy  arrest  his  efforts,  by  skill  and 
valor  in  the  field,  to  fortify  his  dynasty  against  the  invasion 
by  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden. 

"  The  Literature  of  Russia  deserves  more  respect  than 
the  journals  of  other  nations  have  assigned  to  it.  In  the 
departments  of  history,  of  science,  of  poetry,  and  of  diplo- 
macy, she  should  rank  with  many  nations  claiming  to  be 
more  civilized.  The  language  resembles  the  Greek  in 
sound,  having  six  Greek  letters  in  the  alphabet.  Their 
historians  have  been  already  named ;  Lomonosoff,  Kaute- 
mar,  Derjavine,  Poushkin,  and  Koukolnic,  will  compare 
with  the  poets  of  ancient  or  modern  times  ;  while  the  fame 
of  Romanozoff,  Lieven,  Matenzervic,  and'  Nesselrode  will 
descend  to  posterity  in  the  same  diplomatic  wreath  with 
that  of  Talleyrand,  Metternich,  and  Castlereagh,  and  only 
equalled  by  the  ability  that  has  distinguished  the  State 
papers  of  our  own  loved  land. 

"  The  Commerce  of  Russia  is  chiefly  internal  and  con- 
tinental, especially  in  the  interchange  of  products  with 
China  and  the  East  Indies.  The  vast  canals,  commenced 
by  Peter,  have  been  completed  by  his  successors;  and 
there  is  now  an  internal  communication  between  the  Baltic 
and  the  Caspian  Sea,  independently  of  canals  in  Siberia 
that  lead  to  rivers  emptying  into  that  great  inland  lake. 
Along  this  route  the  coarse  cloths  of  Russia  find  their  way 
to  Kiatka,  on  the  frontier  of  China,  and  the  famous  tea  of 
the  East,  grown  only  in  the  northern  districts  and  never 
exported  by  sea,  is  brought  to  the  Caspian,  and  thence  up  the 
Volga  to  the  great  annual  fair  at  Nishnai,  Novogorod,  and 
thence  by  that  river  and  canals  to  St.  Petersburg.  This 
voyage  is  effected  in  two  years,  owing  to  the  long  winter 
blocking  up  the  canals.  The  foreign  commerce  is  carried 
on  from  St.  Petersburg  and  Riga  on  the  Baltic,  and  from 
Odessa  and  Tangarog  on  the  Black  Sea.  I  deem  it  unne- 
cessary, in  this  place,  to  speak  of  the  extent  of  this  foreign 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          97 

commerce,  being  content  to  allude  only  to  the  character 
of  her  import  duties;  these  are  eminently  protective  upon 
all  the  articles  entering  into  competition  with  her  manu- 
factures, and  are,  in  some  instances,  prohibitory,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  direct  introduction  of  our  tobacco,  while  our 
cotton  is  scarcely  burdened  with  any  duty.  A  recent 
Ukase,  permitting  the  introduction  of  crushed  sugars  from 
England,  has  nearly  destroyed  the  indirect  trade  so  profit- 
able to  our  navigating  interests,  in  which  we  send  the 
Havana  sugars  to  Russia.  It  is  a  source  of  satisfaction, 
however,  to  know  that  the  manufacturing  establishments  in 
that  Empire  are  inducing  a  fourfold  increase  in  the  con- 
sumption of  our  cotton. 

"  The  Agriculture  of  Russia  has  not  advanced  as  rapidly 
as  her  other  branches  of  national  industry,  notwithstanding 
the  Emperor  is  aided  by  the  enlightened  labors  of  an  agri- 
cultural society,  of  which  I  had  the  honor  to  be  elected  a 
member.  A  laudable  spirit,  however,  is  just  waking  up 
there,  as  elsewhere,  to  advance  this  greatest  of  national  in- 
terests. The  implements  of  husbandry,  in  the  interior,  are  of 
the  rudest  kind,  though  the  cheapness  of  labor  enables  the 
cultivator  to  prepare  his  lands  in  a  mode  much  neater  than 
we  should  expect  from  the  character  of  the  implements.  In 
this  respect,  a  happy  change  is  taking  place  in  the  desire  to 
procure  from  America  the  improvements  that  distinguish 
our  genius  and  energy,  of  which  we  have  a  gratifying  evi- 
dence in  the  selection  of  a  celebrated  American  engineer, 
Major  Whistler,  to  superintend  the  railroad  to  Moscow, 
four  hundred  and  forty  miles,  and  the  employment  of 
Messrs.  Harrison  and  Eastwick  and  Winans  to  construct  the 
locomotives  and  cars — a  proud  monument  to  American 
genius,  skill,  and  integrity.  Indeed,  all  the  valuable  inven- 
tions of  our  country  are  sought  for,  except  our  greatest 
invention,  that  of  a  Representative  Democracy.  The  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  Russia  is  beginning  to  exercise  the 
wholesome  influence  of  giving  dignity  to  the  profession. 
The  Emperor  often  suggests  plans  for  its  consideration, 
13 


98          BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

and  adds  valuable  premiums  for  judicious  improvements. 
Two  of  these  plans  were  intimately  connected  with  the 
national  welfare :  one,  to  procure  an  account  of  the  most 
improved  mode  of  kiln-drying  grain,  for  exportation  to  the 
warm  climates ;  and  the  other,  the  most  effectual  scheme 
for  preventing  a  scarcity  of  food  in  one  province,  while 
there  should  be  a  great  supply  in  other  provinces.  This 
great  desideratum  is  to  be  obtained  solely  by  the  construc- 
tion of  good  roads,  and  other  facilities  of  intercommunica- 
tion, and  is  doubtless  occupying  at  this  time  the  sagacity 
and  energy  of  her  indefatigable  sovereign.  In  travelling 
to  the  interior,  I  was  struck  with  the  practice,  so  little 
known  among  us,  of  women  reaping  in  the  harvest-fields, 
a  practice  so  general  on  the  continent,  and  which  is  even 
tolerated  in  intellectual  Scotland.  In  Russia,  as  indeed 
throughout  the  continent  of  Europe,  the  fields  are  culti- 
vated without  division-fences, — the  cattle  and  the  sheep  are 
attended  by  shepherds  with  their  dogs,  while  the  pigs  are 
kept  up  in  small  lots  near  the  dwelling.  How  different 
from  the  vast  extent  and  care  bestowed  in  our  country  upon 
fences  to  head  that  little  animal ! 

"  The  Manufactures  of  Russia  are  beginning  to  elevate 
her  in  the  estimation  of  other  powers ;  vast  efforts  are  in 
progress  to  extend  the  manufacture  of  refined  sugar,  of 
glass,  and  of  cotton,  the  latter  of  which  is  leading  to  a  rapid 
increase  in  the  introduction  of  our  great  staple.  A  few 
years  ago  we  had  only  ten,  now  we  have  sixty  large  ships 
engaged  in  that  trade.  There  are  many  large  manufac- 
turing establishments  for  sheet-iron,  and  cotton  and  woollen 
cloths,  around  Moscow ;  an  interesting  establishment,  at 
Tula,  for  the  manufacture  of  fire-arms  and  cutlery ;  and,  in 
the  district  of  Crimea,  a  large  capital  is  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  sugar  from  beets.  At  Moscow  there  is  an 
annual  fair  for  the  exhibition  of  native  manufactured  arti- 
cles;  and  a  fair  for  the  exchange  of  Asiatic,  European,  and 
American  products  atNijnel  Novogorod,  on  the  Volga,  four 
hundred  miles  beyond  Moscow.  Two  hundred  thousand 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.          99 

merchants,  of  different  nations,  are  collected  at  the  fair,  and 
I  could,  in  a  two  hours'  walk  along  the  respective  streets, 
hear  twenty  different  languages  spoken.  It  was  here  that 
I  found  the  cotton  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  rice  of  South 
Carolina,  by  the  side  of  the  cotton  and  rice  of  Bokhara  in 
the  East  Indies,  each  brought  six  thousand  miles  to  be  ex- 
changed in  the  centre  of  Russia ;  and  it  was  here,  too,  that 
I  encountered  the  rare  incident  of  being  supplied  at  a  Per- 
sian hotel  with  barbecued  mutton,  and  with  what  we  call  a 
Barrett  melon,  grown  from  the  seed  of  a  melon  cultivated  at 
Astrachan,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Volga,  on  the  Caspian  Sea. 
"The  Revenue  of  Russia  amounts  to  about  one  hundred 
million  silver  rubles,  and  is  derived  chiefly  from  the  fol- 
lowing sources,  to  wit : 

Silver  Rubles. 
Capitation  tax  on  serfs     .         .         .         .         .         .   20,000,000 

Tax  on  peasants  (in  lieu  of  personal  service)     .         .   16,000,000 
Customs  for  St.  Petersburg  (other  parts  not  included)  15,868,904 
Salt  tax  .         .         .         .        ",         .         .         .         .   14,500,000 

Brandy  tax      .         .  .         .         .         .         .  36,500,000 

Stamps   .         .         .         ...         .         .         .     2,000,000 

Mints      .         .  -    .         .         .         .         .         .     2,105,000 

Per  cent,  tax  on  merchants'  capital  ....     1,500,000 

Tax  on  private  mining  in  Siberia      ....     2,000,000 

218  poods  of  gold  from  Government  mines  in  Siberia, 

at  12,000  silver  rubles  each  pood       .         .         .     2,616,000 


Total        .  .  93,089,904 

"The  Debt,  though  large,  is  relatively  small  compared 
with  her  resources  and  with  the  debt  and  resources  of 
other  Continental  powers ;  it  is  about  three  hundred 
million  silver  rubles,  or  two  hundred  and  twenty -five 
million  dollars,  to  which  may  be  added  the  expenses  of 
the  railroad  to  Moscow  at  fifty  million  rubles.  The  debt 
is  a  perpetual  loan,  subject  to  redemption  at  any  time  by 
the  Government;  and  her  credit  is  higher  than  that  of  any 
government  in  Europe.  The  exports  of  the  Empire  consist 


IOO       BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

chiefly  of  wheat  and  rye,  hemp  and  its  fabrics,  such  as  sail- 
duck,  cordage,  &c.,  tallow,  deal,  &c. ;  and  the  large  item  of 
tallow  indicates  that  it  is  a  fine  grass  country,  —  blue  grass, 
timothy,  clover,  and  orchard  grass  being  cultivated  exten- 
sively and  with  great  success.  Oats,  barley,  and  manna  are 
cultivated  chiefly  for  home  consumption.  The  Irish  potato 
is  grown  in  abundance,  and  of  a  quality  equal  to  that  culti- 
vated on  the  Island  of  Michilimackinac.  On  visiting  Mars 
Hill,  near  Moscow,  —  from  whence  Napoleon  and  his  army 
first  saw  the  object  of  their  toils  and  ambition,  and  from 
whence  I  could  have  an  entire  view  of  that  ancient  city, 
with  her  gorgeous  churches  and  mosques,  with  her  venera- 
ble Kremlin,  with  her  undulating,  winding  streets,  and  her 
magnificent  edifices,  partly  Asiatic  and  partly  European, —  I 
could  but  designate  the  valley  for  miles  along  the  adjacent 
river  as  a  great  cabbage  patch ;  cabbage  soup,  rye  bread, 
and  salt,  being  the  general  and  national  diet  of  the  peas- 
antry. 

"  The  Navy  of  Russia,  so  far  as  ships  are  concerned, 
ranks  as  the  third,  if  not  the  second,  among  the  powers  of 
Europe.  It  consists  of  nearly  three  hundred  ships,  many  of 
them  eighty,  and  a  few  of  one  hundred  and  twenty,  guns. 
These  are  employed  chiefly  in  the  Baltic  and  Black  seas ; 
the  want,  however,  of  a  great  commercial  marine  must  limit 
the  efficiency  of  these  heavy  floating  batteries.  The  Em- 
peror manifests  a  laudable  ambition  in  his  efforts  to  increase 
this  arm  of  his  power.  He  is  multiplying  the  number  of 
his  war-steamers,  and  thinks  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when 
these  will  supersede,  in  some  degree,  the  use  of  the  line-of- 
battle  ships.  The  '  Kamschatska,'  built  by  his  authority  at 
New  York,  is  decidedly  the  finest  war-steamer  in  Europe, 
being  second  only  to  our  own  '  Missouri '  burned  at  Gibraltar. 
The  voyages  of  Kruzenstern,  written  in  masterly  style,  do 
honor  to  the  enterprise  of  Russia ;  and  this  venerable  ad- 
miral permitted  me  to  witness  the  exercises  of  the  naval 
cadets  under  his  care,  where  my  national  pride  was  gratified 
by  seeing  a  model  of  our  late  frigate  'President'  used  in 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        IOI 

their  naval  lectures.  The  naval  character  of  Russia  was 
well  sustained  by  Peter,  as  her  admiral  in  the  Black  Sea, 
and  subsequently  by  Potemkin  in  the  reign  of  Catherine, 
and  more  recently  by  Admiral  Heyden,  who  commanded 
her  fleet  in  the  battle  of  Navarino. 

"  The  Army  of  Russia  exceeds  in  numbers  that  of  any 
power  in  Europe.  The  regular  force,  which,  in  1841,  was 
nearly  one  million,  has  been  reduced  to  seven  hundred 
thousand  ;  of  these,  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  are  employed  on  the  frontier  of  the  Caucasus ; 
fifty  thousand  constitute  the  Imperial  Guard  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  the  rest  are  stationed  among  the  interior  govern- 
ments'of  this  vast  Empire.  The  Emperor  readily  avails 
himself  of  the  improvements  introduced  into  other  coun- 
tries in  the  equipments  of  this  his  great  hobby,  and  it  ap- 
pears to  be  an  object  of  great  solicitude  to  keep  pace  with 
the  condition  of  the  French  troops.  The  army  is  recruited 
from  time  to  time,  according  to  the  Emperor's  opinion  of 
the  public  exigencies,  by  a  requisition  upon  the  nobility  for 
a  certain  per  cent.,  from  the  peasantry,  and  such  an  amount 
as  he  may  choose  to  raise  from  the  Crown  peasants.  Mili- 
tary colonies  are  maintained  in  the  interior,  particularly 
in  the  direction  of  the  Black  Sea,  where  the  soldiers  are 
exercised  in  the  winter  and  assist  their  families  during  the 
summer  in  the  cultivation  of  the  Crown  lands.  For  mus- 
cular energy  and  intelligence,  the  Russian  soldiers  do  not 
compare  favorably  with  the  French  or  American ;  but  in 
the  precision  of  the  military  movements,  especially  on 
parade,  they  are  superior  to  any  other  troops.  Their  firm- 
ness and  constancy  under  a  murderous  fire  have  been  at- 
tested on  many  of  the  best  fought  fields  in  Europe,  whether 
under  Suwarrow  in  Italy,  or  Benningsen  and  PlatorT  in 
Germany,  or  Kutosof  and  Barclay  de  Tolly.  No  adequate 
conception  can  be  formed,  in  this  country,  of  the  brilliancy 
of  an  Imperial  review  of  St.  Petersburg,  or  of  the  interesting 
manoeuvres  of  fifty  to  one  hundred  thousand  regulars  at  the 
summer  encampment.  The  army,  in  two  opposing  divi- 


IO2       BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

sions,  executes  all  the  supposed  operations  of  a  real  cam- 
paign. To  these  exercises  I  was  always  invited  by  the 
Emperor;  and,  during  1845,  witnessed  the  combination  of 
one  hundred  thousand  men,  of  which  twenty  thousand  were 
cavalry,  each  regiment  with  a  different  major  and  horses  of 
different  colors,  though  each  horse,  in  a  regiment,  was 
precisely  alike.  These  horses  are  taught  to  move,  at  the 
sound  of  music,  from  a  walk  to  a  trot,  then  to  a  gallop,  and 
thence  back  to  a  walk,  always  marking  time.  I  should 
scarcely  venture  to  state  these  facts,  if  some  visitor  to  St. 
Petersburg  had  not  published  a  similar  account. 

"I  beg  leave,  in  this  place,  to  read  an  extract  from  my 
Despatch  No.  61,  addressed  to  the  Department  of  State,  in 
September,  1845,  in  which  my  views  as  to  the  value  of 
flying  artillery,  and  suggestions  as  to  our  naval  force,  were 
placed  in  the  possession  of  our  Government  before  the 
commencement  of  the  present  war  with  Mexico :  '  I  add  a 
copy  of  sundry  notes  from  Aid-de-camp-General  Count  Or- 
luff,  inviting  me  to  the  military  review  during  the  months  of 
June,  July,  and  August,  in  which  one  hundred  thousand  troops 
were  engaged.  Prince  Charles  of  Russia  and  the  brother  of 
the  King  of  Holland,  who  married  a  sister  of  the  Empress, 
attended  these  reviews.  It  was  a  gratifying  spectacle  to 
witness,  as  I  did,  from  an  eminence,  a  line  of  troops  extend- 
ing two  miles  on  my  right  and  an  equal  distance  on  my 
left,  in  a  plain  so  level  that  I  could  see  the  smoke  of  the 
artillery  upon  each  of  the  distant  flanks,  and  the  exercises 
were  closed  by  a  magnificent  display  in  three  columns,  one 
of  seventy-five  thousand  infantry,  a  battalion  deep,  and 
extending  more  than  a  mile  ;  another  of  two  hundred  pieces 
of  artillery ;  and  the  other,  of  twenty  thousand  cavalry  of 
twenty-five  regiments,  each  with  a  different  uniform  and 
horses  of  different  colors,  though  the  horses  of  the  same 
regiment  were  precisely  alike.  I  was  impressed  by  the 
richness  of  the  uniforms  of  the  cavalry  regiments,  as  well  as 
by  the  action  and  discipline  of  the  horses ;  by  the  remark- 
able precision  with  which  the  infantry  moved;  and,  most 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES   S.  TODD.       103 

of  all,  by  the  celerity  with  which  the  flying  artillery  was 
managed.  It  was  this  new  arm,  followed  by  the  combina- 
tions and  rapid  concentrations  of  an  adept,  which  gave  to 
Napoleon  his  superiority  over  the  tactics  of  the  great 
Frederick ;  and  although,  in  a  defensive  war,  it  may  not  be 
so  valuable  to  us,  the  plains  of  Texas,  Oregon,  California, 
or  Mexico,  may  present  a  theatre  for  its  successful  applica- 
tion in  our  service.  The  corps  of  Cossacks,  both  of  the 
Don  and  of  the  Black  Sea,  so  formidable  to  the  retreating 
French  in  the  invasion  of  1812,  as  well  as  a  small  battalion 
of  Circassians,  excited  a  peculiar  interest  from  their  skilful 
use  of  the  lance  by  the  one,  and  the  adroit  horsemanship 
and  practised  gunnery  of  the  other  at  half  speed,  so  like 
the  mounted  riflemen  of  our  great  Western  Valley.  It 
struck  me  as  a  very  judicious  plan,  to  attach  a  squadron  of 
lancers  to  each  park  of  flying  artillery,  and  the  whole  scene 
afforded  evidence  of  the  vast  superiority  which  discipline 
gives  over  mere  valor,  in  all  cases  where  the  local  position 
and  natural  defences  do  not  impart  to  raw  troops  the  con- 
fidence which  discipline  alone  inspires. 

"  '  I  have  pleasure  in  noticing  frequent  allusion  in  the  St. 
Petersburg  Journal,  published  under  the  eye  of  this  Govern- 
ment, to  our  country  as  a  great  maritime  power.  It  is  this 
impression  which  is  best  calculated  to  insure  a  respect  for 
our  rights ;  and  perhaps  no  disposition  of  the  steamer 
Mississippi,  and  of  the  Pennsylvania,  would  be  more  judicious 
than  to  show  them  to  the  Emperor,  whose  estimate  of  our 
capacity,  of  our  power,  is  chiefly  regulated  by  his  conviction 
of  our  ability  to  contend  for  the  freedom  of  the  seas,  of  which 
Great  Britain  arrogantly  assumes  to  be  the  mistress.  I  trust 
you  will  pardon  me  for  this  suggestion  upon  subjects  strictly 
military  and  naval ;  but  when  we  look  at  the  unauthorized 
efforts  of  leading  European  papers  to  control  the  action  of 
independent  American  States,  we  cannot  avoid  examining 
the  means  by  which  all  European  interference  with  the 
affairs  of  the  New  World  shall  be  rebuked.' 

"  The  Climate  of  Russia  was  to  me  a  subject  of  much 


IO4       BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.   TODD. 

misconception,  before  my  arrival  in  that  country ;  I  found 
the  winters  to  agree  with  my  constitution,  and  my  health 
throughout  was  firmer  than  at  any  period  of  my  life.  The 
cold  season  commences  early  in  October,  and  often  con- 
tinues until  the  first  of  May.  I  crossed  the  Neva  in  a  car- 
riage, on  three-feet  ice,  more  than  once  in  last  April.  The 
cold  is  more  intense,  yet  more  uniform  than  with  us.  The 
average  cold  from  the  ist  of  November  to  the  1st  of  March 
is  equal  to  the  coldest  week  in  our  winter,  while  many 
weeks  there  are  twice  as  cold,  ranging  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-five  degrees  of  Reaumur,  which  is  two  and  one- 
fourth  of  Fahrenheit.  The  nights  are  long,  from  4  o'clock 
in  the  evening  to  8  in  the  morning.  The  sled  is  in 
constant  use  in  the  winter,  and  is  a  cheerful  exercise,  when 
one  is  wrapt  in  furs.  The  rooms  are  admirably  heated,  so 
that  in  the  coldest  weather  I  slept  on  a  mattress  under  one 
comforter.  This  mode  of  imparting  a  uniform  temperature 
to  their  rooms  is  worthy  of  introduction  into  our  own 
country,  especially  the  northern  part  of  it.  The  chimney 
is,  indeed,  an  ornamental  piece  of  furniture ;  it  is  made  of 
brick,  covered  with  porcelain,  has  flues,  and,  when  the 
wood  has  burned  to  a  coal,  the  mouth  below  and  the  flues 
above  are  closed  up,  which  causes  the  heat  from  the  bricks 
to  spread  gradually  over  the  room.  Unless  the  cold  is  very 
severe,  one  fire  is  sufficient  for  the  twenty-four  hours ;  and, 
by  means  of  a  private  passage,  the  servant  heats  the  room 
without  the  necessity  of  coming  in  with  the  wood  —  a  fact 
which  will  be  appreciated  by  all  neat  housekeepers,  and  by 
those  who  do  not  choose  their  slumbers  in  the  morning  to 
be  disturbed  in  the  preparations  for  rendering  their  bed- 
rooms comfortable,  both  of  which  classes  of  persons  I  have 
doubtless  now  the  honor  of  addressing.  Sleds  and  ice 
hills,  so  peculiar  in  Russia,  are  the  amusements  of  the  day ; 
while  the  long  nights  are  occupied  with  soirees,  balls,  operas, 
and  theatres,  and  even  these  engage  for  a  portion  of  the  night 
the  attention  of  the  literati  and  officers  of  state.  I  enjoyed  the 
exhilarating  exercise  of  being  drawn  in  a  Laplander's  sled, 


BIOGRAPHY    OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        1 05 

with  four  reindeer,  on  the  ice  of  the  Neva;  and  I  often 
witnessed  the  small  boats,  shod  with  iron  like  the  sleds, 
drawn  by  the  wind  in  an  incredible  period  of  time  from 
St.  Petersburg  to  Cronstadt,  the  great  naval  port.  The  sum- 
mer of  Russia  is  as  remarkable  as  the  winter;  the  influence 
of  the  spring  being  scarcely  felt.  Not  a  bud  is  seen  before 
the  1st  of  May,  and  the  full-blown  leaf  is  found  on  the  ist  of 
June.  The  growth  of  vegetables  is  remarkably  rapid,  ren- 
dering them  tender.  The  nights  are  the  reverse  of  those  in 
winter.  You  may  read  at  midnight ;  and  the  people  walk 
the  streets  until  II;  at  I,  dawn  commences,  and  the  sun 
is  up  at  2,  having  set  the  previous  evening  at  9.  For  six 
weeks/  in  midsummer,  the  heat  is  oppressive  in  the  sun, 
from  II  to  3 ;  but  you  sleep  under  a  coverlid,  and  thus 
find  the  invigorating  effects  of  which  you  are  denied  in  the 
region  of  the  tropics. 

"  The  Nobility  of  Russia  consists  of  some  ten  or  twelve 
grades  ;  the  highest*in  rank  are  the  descendants  of  the 
ancient  princes,  of  the  dukedom  prior  to  the  Empire,  and 
those  who  are  created  by  the  Emperor  in  consideration  of 
eminent  public  services  ;  then  counts;  then  an  inferior  grade 
of  princes.  All  officers  of  the  army  who  reach  the  grade 
of  colonel  are  considered  as  ennobled;  but  society,  as  the 
higher  circles  are  called,  consists  only  of  the  first  four  or 
five  grades.  These  all  receive  a  liberal  education,  and  many 
of  them  are  permitted  to  travel  into  other  countries,  and 
are  distinguished  by  their  polished  manners  and  their  intel- 
lectual accomplishments.  Many  of  the  nobility  have  im- 
mense estates,  including  often  ten  thousand  serfs,  with  more 
land  than  they  can  cultivate.  The  deference  paid  to  them 
by  the  peasantry  is  more  marked  than  with  our  republican 
notions  we  could  conceive  it  to  be  possible.  It  will  be  dif- 
ficult, in  the  limit  allowed  to  these  remarks,  to  dwell  upon 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  nobility  or  of  the  etiquette 
which  is  so  exacting  at  the  Court;  but  I  may  be  allowed  to 
pause  a  moment  on  the  female  character  of  the  wealthier 
classes.  These  are  educated  in  a  liberal  style,  and  many  of 
14 


106      BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TCDD. 

their  accomplishments  are  useful  as  well  as  ornamental. 
They  have  a  fine  taste  for  music  and  embroidery,  of  which 
latter  I  have  some  elegant  specimens — a  souvenir  —  in 
return  for  American  books.  The  children  of  both  sexes 
are  taught,  from  an  early  period,  to  observe  the  most  cour- 
teous manner,  and  a  laudable  neatness  of  dress,  in  which 
they  as  much  deserve  to  be  models  to  our  own  children  as 
in  their  remarkable  efficiency  in  the  knowledge  of  modern 
languages.  I  have  often  heard  the  children  at  the  family 
table  speak  in  four  languages :  French,  German,  Russian, 
and  English,  and  acquired  in  the  order  mentioned.  The 
three  qualities  for  which  the  ladies  merit  particular  notice 
consists  in  their  graceful  movements,  neat  costumes,  com- 
bining richness  with  simplicity,  and  unaffected  manners;  in 
all  these  they  excel  the  most  intellectual  English,  and  the 
sprightly  though  less  dignified  French,  and,  I  hope  I  may 
be  pardoned  for  saying  that,  in  these  respects,  they  are  in 
advance  of  our  own  ladies ;  though  in  freshness  of  beauty, 
in  symmetry  of  form,  intellectual  vivacity,  and  real  nobility 
of  character,  every  American,  who  travels  abroad,  will  ad- 
mit that  our  own  have  no  superiors  in  any  land. 

"  The  second  class  of  persons,  in  Russia,  consisting  of 
the  various  grades  of  merchants,  the  shopkeepers,  and 
handicraft  tradesmen,  have  many  peculiar  qualities;  they 
adhere,  in  dress,  to  the  national  costume,  though  in  a  style 
more  European  than  that  of  the  serf.  As  traders,  they  are 
astute  and  enterprising;  and  Peter  well  described  them 
when  he  told  the  Jews,  on  entering  his  Empire,  that  they 
were  welcome  to  cheat  his  subjects  if  they  could.  This 
class  is  making  rapid  strides  in  intelligence  and  in  the  useful 
qualities  of  the  citizens,  and  form,  with  the  serfs,  objects  of 
deep  solicitude  in  the  ameliorating  measures  of  the  Em- 
peror. The  serfs,  amounting  to  forty  millions,  of  which 
fifteen  millions  belong  to  the  Crown,  are  objects  of  great 
interest  to  the  traveller.  Up  to  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century  there  were  no  slaves  in  Russia,  except  a  few 
prisoners  of  war;  and  the  peasants,  or  agricultural  work- 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        1 07 

men,  the  most  numerous  class  of  inhabitants  in  Russia, 
could  change  their  abode  once  a  year,  on  the  23d  of  April, 
St.  George's  day.  One  of  the  Czars,  or  rulers,  Boris  Goda- 
noff,  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  decreed  that, 
in  future,  no  peasant  should  have  the  right  of  changing  his 
master,  and  should  remain  forever  the  resident  of  the  same 
place,  so  that  by  selling  the  landed  property  the  peasants 
also  were  sold.  The  successors  of  the  Czar  Boris,  up  to  the 
time  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  (1800),  gave  away  a  large 
quantity  of  Crown  land  to  the  nobility,  as  a  remuneration 
for  their  services,  and  transferred  the  peasants  who  resided 
on  those  lands ;  thus  converting  free  peasants  into  serfs,  or 
slaves,'  up  to  the  eighteenth  century,  when  Catharine  II. 
declared  that  they  were  not  slaves,  but  only  vassals  or 
peasants  attached  to  the  glebe.  The  Emperor  Alexander, 
at  his  accession  to  the  throne,  prohibited  the  further  distri- 
bution of  Government  lands  inhabited  by  peasants,  and  in 
1815  undertook  the  task  of  liberating  the  peasants  of  Russia. 
He  persuaded  a  majority  of  the  proprietors  of  estates  in  the 
three  western  provinces  of  the  Empire,  called  the  Baltic 
provinces,  containing  two  millions  of  inhabitants,  to  give 
liberty  to  their  serfs  on  certain  conditions.  These  were 
discussed  by  a  committee  of  the  proprietors,  and  approved 
by  the  Emperor.  No  disturbance  grew  out  of  the  arrange- 
ment, and  in  1823  there  remained  no  slaves  in  these  prov- 
inces. If  I  had  the  time,  I  could  describe  the  process  of 
this  gradual  emancipation ;  merely  remarking  that  the  lib- 
erated serfs  were  not  allowed  to  leave  those  provinces,  nor 
to  go  into  the  interior  provinces  where  slavery  still  exists. 
In  the  last  twenty  years  the  Emperor  Nicholas  has  enacted 
several  laws  securing  privileges  to  the  serfs  in  the  remain- 
ing provinces  of  Russia,  such  as  that  no  serf  could  be  sold 
separately  from  his  family,  nor  the  family  from  the  estate, 
nor  that  the  proprietor  should  require  of  the  serf  more  than 
three  days  labor  in  the  week.  Half  of  the  whole  number 
of  serfs  do  not  work  on  the  land  of  their  proprietors,  but 
pay  him  a  certain  sum,  and  receive  from  him  a  portion  of 


IOS        BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

land.     Many  peasants  buy  their  own  time,  and  are  engaged 
as  artisans  or  shopkeepers  in  the  various  towns. 

"  The  first  impression  of  admiration  that  strikes  the  trav- 
eller, on  entering  St.  Petersburg,  is  directed  to  the  deep, 
clear  river,  noble  quarries  of  granite  with  iron  railings,  splen- 
did streets,  magnificent  palaces,  and  the  hundred  churches 
with  lofty  spires  and  gilded  domes  ;  and  he  then  turns 
with  astonishment  from  these  monuments  of  civilization,  to 
look  at  the  people  who  have  reared  them  —  serfs,  with  their 
long  beards,  clad  in  sheep-skin  coats  with  the  wool  inside. 
The  resources  of  Russia  are  of  vast  extent;  independently 
of  the  productions  of  her  soil  and  of  her  workshops,  &c., 
she  has  great  mineral  wealth;  gold,  platina,  copper,  and 
iron  abound  in  greater  quantities  than  in  any  other  portion 
of  Europe,  if  not  of  the  globe,  though  no  mines  of  coal 
are  to  be  found.  The  consumption  of  this  article,  at  St. 
Petersburg,  is  supplied  as  ballast  in  the  ships,  and  is  as 
cheap  as  at  New  Castle.  In  her  geographical  position  so 
compact ;  in  her  military  capacities,  in  her  warlike  char- 
acter, and  her  vast  energies,  concentrated  by  the  genius  of 
one  mind,  Russia  may  be  regarded  as  the  first  Northern 
power  in  Europe,  if  not  the  equal  of  any  on  the  Continent. 
Like  our  own  beloved  land,  she  is  the  child  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  In  the  last  one  hundred  years  she  has 
advanced  as  rapidly  as  her  neighbors  in  all  that  constitutes 
the  strength  of  a  State,  if  we  except  the  results  which  flow 
only  from  the  diffusion  of  intelligence  among  the  masses. 
Like  our  own  country,  she  is  formidable  in  her  offensive,  as 
well  as  defensive,  attitude  :  she  by  her  isolated  position  and 
gigantic  army  ;  we  by  our  extended  coast  and  efficient  ma- 
rine. Under  a  proper  system  of  culture,  she,  like  the  United 
States,  possesses  ample  means  for  feeding  her  own  people, 
and  of  contributing  to  the  wants  of  other  nations,  —  in  all 
substantial  respects,  the  two  powers  are  the  most  indepen- 
dent on  the  globe.  They  have  no  conflicting  points  of  con- 
tact ;  they  are  destined  to  be  the  best  neighbors,  because 
they  are  so  far  off.  The  power  of  steam  is  working  wonders 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

in  both  ;  railroads  will  give  them  permanent  tranquillity,  for 
in  the  concentrated  means  of  war  are  found  the  surest  guar- 
antees of  peace.  The  capacity  which  their  internal  facili- 
ties afford  for  precipitating  a  large  military  force  from  the 
interior  to  the  frontier  will  preserve  both  from  invasion ; 
while,  in  Russia,  the  vast  railroad  contemplated  by  the  Em- 
peror, for  uniting  the  Baltic  with  the  Black  Sea  and  the 
Caspian,  will  give  him  the  power  to  invade  the  contiguous 
nations  at  the  same  time  his  standing  army,  permitted  from 
this  power  of  sudden  concentration  to  be  reduced  in  num- 
bers and  expense,  is  engaged  in  preserving  the  public  peace 
at  home.  With  this  interesting  nation  we  have  always 
maintained  a  friendly  intercourse.  It  is  a  sublime  spectacle, 
worthy  the  contemplation  of  other  Powers,  to  see  two  great 
nations,  the  most  extensive  in  territory  and  resources,  in  the 
Old  and  in  the  New  World,  always  living  in  peace.  As  to 
them,  the  Temple  of  Janus  has  been  always  shut ;  may  it 
never  be  opened !  And  may  I  not  renew  to  you  an  expression 
of  the  sentiment  in  which,  with  the  independence  and  cour- 
tesy of  a  Kentuckian,  I  indulged  in  my  last  interview  with 
the  Emperor,  that  the  day  might  soon  arrive  when  the 
power  of  the  United  States  and  Russia,  by  sea  and  by 
land,  should  be  such  as  to  command  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  to  be  at  peace. 

"  I  have  only  a  moment  to  allude  to  the  Government  and 
Administration,  and  seize  the  occasion  to  introduce  reflec- 
tions of  a  sagacious  and  accomplished  American,  recently 
at  St.  Petersburg.  '  The  will  of  the  Emperor  embraces  the 
executive,  legislative,  and  judicial  power.  He  is  the  supreme 
judge,  the  commander  of  the  armies,  the  head  of  the 
Church.  The  Senate  consists  of  many  worthy  men,  dis- 
tinguished by  their  learning,  or  the  services  they  have 
rendered  the  State.  They  are  appointed  by  his  Majesty, 
and  by  his  consent  or  command  they  ratify  treaties,  receive 
petitions,  etc. ;  they  have  no  authority,  except  as  wise  and 
prudent  counsellors.  The  internal  and  external  interests 
of  the  Empire  are  regulated  and  superintended  by  various 


1 1 0       BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

departments,  over  which  the  Emperor  appoints  a  Minister. 
The  Russian  Territory  is  divided  into  many  governments, 
superintending  the  ecclesiastical  matters,  education,  ways, 
and  communications,  civil  or  secret,  and  military  police, 
etc.,  dependent  on  the  chief  department  at  St.  Petersburg. 
The  police  master  of  a  village,  town,  or  district,  is  the 
judge  and  jury  in  almost  all  kinds  of  proceedings;  he  is  a 
very  powerful  individual,  and  much  respected.  Imagine, 
if  you  can,  our  President,  the  supreme  ruler  of  the  six-and- 
twenty  States  of  the  Union,  the  governors  of  the  States 
acting  as  his  deputies,  waiting  for  his  commands,  and  you 
have  almost  a  daguerreotype  illustration  of  the  whole  gov- 
ernmental apparatus  of  the  Czar.  With  the  imperfection 
of  such  a  machine,  the  wonder  is  how  it  is  kept  in  motion, 
and  how  it  effects  so  much.  The  merchants  —  the  great 
merchants  of  the  large  commercial  cities  —  have  a  resort, 
in  civil  cases,  by  permission  of  the  government,  to  ref- 
erees ;  and  an  appeal  may  be  had  thence  to  the  'minister  of 
the  department  of  commerce,  that  is,  in  truth,  to  the  Em- 
peror." 

"It  would  appear  then,  from  this  graphic  description, 
that  the  Emperor  is  the  beginning  and  the  ending  of 
all  things  in  his  dominions.  And  what  shall  I  say  of 
this  remarkable  personage,  who  unites  in  his  appearance 
and  character  the  dignity  and  intellectual  developments 
of  our  first  Governor,  and  the  symmetry  and  personal 
beauty  of  Benjamin  Howard  ?  and  what  more  could  I  say 
of  him,  than  that  he  would  have  been  selected,  from  his 
commanding  presence  and  address,  to  be  the  leader  of  the 
choicest  sons  of  Kentucky  who  have  ever  gone  forth  from 
her  bosom  to  advance  the  national  renown !  He  only- 
needs  to  have  mingled  in  the  eventful  scenes  encountered 
by  Louis  Philippe,  and  to  have  suffered  a  similar  adversity, 
to  place  him  at  the  head  of  the  sovereigns  of  Europe  in  the 
great  qualities  of  intellectual  energy,  accomplished  address, 
and  sagacious  statesmanship.  It  should  not  be  a  matter  of 
wonder,  that  a  self-willed  monarch,  with  absolute  power, 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        I  I  I 

should  be  sometimes  capricious,  and  even  tyrannical  ;  the 
infirmities  of  human  nature  would  render  this  probable,  and 
the  momentous  interests,  domestic  and  foreign,  of  a  great 
Empire  claiming  his  attention,  would  doubtless  suffer  many 
acts  of  injustice,  oppression,  and  cruelty,  to  be  perpetrated 
by  his  subordinates  of  which  he  would  be  ignorant.  It  is 
sufficient  for  other  nations  to  know,  that  he  is  laboring  to 
carry  out  the  plans  of  Peter,  and  that  he  has  succeeded  in 
advancing  his  peasantry  to  a  higher  civilization  than  that 
attained  by  the  same  class  in  England  under  Henry  the 
Eighth.  In  the  broad  Catholic  sense  of  patriotism,  he  stands 
out  the  great  man  of  his  country,  devoting  his  energies  to 
the  preservation  of  the  nationality  of  his  people  ;  and  what- 
ever we  may  think  of  a  government  which  is  the  antipode 
of  our  own,  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  his  death,  in  the 
present  condition  of  Russia,  would  be  a  great  national  cal- 
amity. But  we  are  not  permitted  to  estimate  the  patriotism 
of  the  rulers  of  other  countries  by  our  own  standard.  In 
the  Indian  sense  of  the  term,  Tecumseh  was  a  patriot;  he 
devoted  his  great  energies  to  the  preservation  of  the  dis- 
tinctive character,  and  what  he  deemed  to  be  the  rights  of 
the  Northwestern  tribes.  During  an  interview  with  General 
Harrison,  previous  to  the  war,  he  referred,  with  great  elo- 
quence, to  the  plan  which  the  United  States  had  adopted 
of  purchasing  lands  from  the  individual  tribes,  and  which 
he  regarded  as  a  mighty  river  about  to  overflow  his  people, 
avowing  that  his  own  plan  of  a  confederacy  of  the  tribes  not 
to  suffer  individual  tribes  to  sell,  was  the  dam  he  was  erect- 
ing to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  flood.  Addressing  the 
General,  he  said :  '  If  your  Great  Father,  who  sits  beyond 
the  mountains  and  drinks  his  wine,  shall  persevere  in  this 
system,  you  and  I  will  have  to  fight  it  out.'  And  nobly  did 
he  redeem  his  pledge :  at  the  memorable  victory  of  the 
Thames  he  sealed  with  his  blood  his  devotion  to  his  na- 
tions, and,  whenever  the  history  of  this  continent  shall  be 
fully  written,  Tecumseh  will  be  described  as  possessing  the 
management  of  Philip,  the  military  genius  of  Pontiac,  and 


I  I  2       BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

the  valor  and  eloquence  of  Buchonghelass,  who,  upon  the 
occasion  of  holding  a  treaty  with  General  George  Rogers 
Clarke,  the  Hannibal  of  the  West,  and  two  other  commis- 
sioners, entered  the  Council  House,  and  paying  no  attention 
to  the  latter,  advanced  to  General  Clarke  and  thanked  the 
Great  Spirit  that  he  had  that  day  brought  together  two 
such  great  warriors  as  Buchonghelass  and  General  Clarke. 

"  One  word  as  to  the  character  of  the  Secret  Police, 
whose  sagacity  will  compare  with  the  days  of  Napoleon. 
Two  anecdotes,  occurring  during  my  residence,  may  suf- 
fice. An  American  merchant,  son  of  a  venerable  mer- 
chant of  Philadelphia,  came  to  St.  Petersburg,  and  on 
presenting  himself,  according  to  the  custom,  at  the  office 
of  the  Minister  of  Police,  was  informed  that  fourteen  years 
ago  he  had  visited  St.  Petersburg,  and  that  his  objects  were 
so  and  so.  Says  the  Minister,  '  Will  you  have  the  kindness 
to  state  what  are  your  objects  in  the  present  visit?  '  Upon 
another  occasion,  a  Frenchman  presented  himself  at  the 
office.  The  Minister  instantly  handed  him  a  passport  to 
the  frontier.  The  Frenchman  was  astonished,  and  asked 
why  he  could  not  be  permitted  to  remain.  The  Minister 
said :  '  You  were  born  in  such  a  village  in  France ;  you 
have  lived  in  such  and  such  places;  and  you  have  killed 
eight  men  in  duels.  We  want  no  such  person  here :  take 
this  passport,  and  allow  me  to  recommend  you  never  to 
attempt  again  to  enter  Russia.'  What  a  noble  example 
does  this  policy  present  for  the  imitation  of  other  na- 
tions! " 

r 

An  effort  was  made  in  the  Whig  State  Convention 
of  184810  secure  to  Colonel  Todd  the  nomination 
for  governor  of  Kentucky.  He  was  not  mixed  up 
with  the  cliques  in  that  party,  known  as  Letcher  and 
Owsley  cliques.  He  was  a  favorite  with  the  most 
prominent  men  of  both  wings  of  the  party. 

But  Mr.  Graves,  of  the  Owsley  clique,  and  Dixon 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.        I  I  3 

of  the  Letcher  clique,  had  long  been  aspirants  for 
the  position.  They  had  energy  and  ambition.  They 
carried  a  large  majority  of  the  counties  in  primary 
assemblies.  And  although  either  would  have  pre- 
ferred Colonel  Todd  to  his  rival,  there  was  such  a 
spirit  between  them  that  it  appeared  that  they  would 
contend  for  the  ascendancy  in  the  Convention. 

Colonel  Todd  supposed  that  he  would  be  defeated 
on  the  second  ballot.  In  this  state  of  affairs,  he  ad- 
dressed a  note  to  the  Convention,  withdrawing  his 
name  from  the  contest  in  order  to  secure  unanimity 
in  the  ranks  of  the  party.  This  movement  led  to 
the  immediate  nomination  of  Mr.  Crittenden,  which 
induced  the  other  candidates  to  retire  from  the  con- 
test. Quite  a  number  of  distinguished  politicians 
afterwards  expressed  the  opinion  that  Colonel  Todd 
would  have  received  a  much  stronger  support  than 
that  given  to  Mr.  Crittenden. 

In  1850  Colonel  Todd,  in  company  with  General 
Robert  B.  Campbell  and  Oliver  P.  Temple,  accepted 
a  mission  tendered  them  by  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, to  treat  with  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  border 
of  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  I  find  in  the 
National  Intelligencer,  of  October,  1850,  the  follow- 
ing reference  to  these  gentlemen  and  their  mission: 

"Distinguished  as  have  been  the  services  of  these  gentle- 
men in  other  higher,  but  scarcely  more  responsible  trusts, 
the  country  has  an  assurance  that  an  important  duty  of  the 
Administration  has  been  ably  discharged,  especially  in  pro- 
viding for  the  fulfilment  of  one  of  the  difficult  stipulations 
of  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Mexico.  By  an  act  of  the  last 
session  of  Congress,  the  President  was  required  to  appoint 
a  commission  to  obtain  statistical  information  of,  and  to 
15 


114       BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

form  treaties  with,  the  various  tribes  of  Indians  on  the  border 
of  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  The  importance  of  this 
trust  has  not  for  many  years  been  exceeded,  and  is  without 
precedent  but  in  the  plenary  power  given  by  Mr.  Jefferson 
to  Governor  William  H.  Harrison,  to  treat  with  all  the 
tribes  of  the  Northwest.  In  parting  with  these  gentlemen 
on  this  distant  and  perilous  service,  we  cannot  but  express 
the  interest  which  we,  in  common  with  all  their  friends,  feel 
for  their  success." 

After  the  mission  terminated,  Colonel  Todd  drew 
up  the  report,  from  which  we  make  the  subjoined 
extracts.  The  report  is  not  only  remarkable  for  the 
service  performed  by  these  gentlemen,  but  for  the 
thorough  knowledge  they  displayed  in  regard  to 
the  Indian  character.  The  long  experience  Colonel 
Todd  had  in  Indian  affairs  peculiarly  fitted  him  for 
the  duties  of  the  Commission.  After  describing  the 
causes  of  delay  at  New  Orleans,  which  was  aggra- 
vated by  the  non-arrival  of  arms  they  were  led  to 
believe  would  meet  them  on  their  arrival  in  that 
city,  the  report  says  : 

"  General  Campbell  remained  in  New  Orleans  until  De- 
cember 8th,  waiting  the  necessary  orders  from  the  War 
Department;  the  other  Commissioners  proceeding  on 
the  1st  of  December  to  Galveston,  thence  to  Austin,  the 
seat  of  government  of  Texas,  with  a  view  to  a  consulta- 
tion with  Governor  Bell,  as  suggested  in  a  conversation 
held  by  the  Commissioners  with  Senator  Rusk,  of  New 
Orleans. 

"  We  beg  leave  to  refer  to  our  despatch  of  December 
2 1st  from  San  Antonio  as  furnishing  an  account  of  the  in- 
terview with  Senator  Rusk  and  Governor  Bell,  and  of  our 
intention  to  proceed  to  El  Paso  and  collect  the  Apaches, 
and  of  our  recommendation  as  to  our  future  Indian  policy 


BIOGRAPHY  OF   COLONEL   CHARLES   S.  TODD.        I  I  5 

in  Texas.  In  that  despatch  we  invited  the  attention  of 
the  Department  to  the  necessity  and  importance  of  an  in- 
creased appropriation  for  our  Commission,  and  a  separate 
escort  of  cavalry  with  which  to  penetrate  into  the  interior 
of  the  country,  instead  of  depending  upon  the  escort  accom- 
panying the  boundary  party. 

"  We  regretted  that  we  could  not  reach  San  Antonio  and 
make  the  necessary  preparations  to  accompany  the  bound- 
ary party  from  that  point  to  El  Paso  on  the  Rio  Grande. 
That  Commission  had  left  San  Antonio  early  in  November, 
and  a  reference  to  the  date  of  our  instructions  received  at 
Washington,  and  the  distance  of  three  thousand  miles  to 
San  Antonio,  apart  from  the  delay  in  that  city  to  equip  the 
Commission  for  a  wilderness  journey  of  six  hundred  and 
fifty  miles,  will  show  the  utter  improbability  that  we  could 
have  arrived  in  time  to  proceed  with  that  party ;  nor,  in- 
deed, was  it  vitally  important  that  we  should  reach  El  Paso 
until  Spring,  from  the  almost  certainty  that  the  boundary 
party  would  not  enter  the  Rocky  Mountains  until  the  milder 
season  should  appear, — a  conjecture  which  subsequent 
events  have  reduced  to  a  certainty,  inasmuch  as  it  is  not 
known  that  the  party  had  yet  penetrated  the  mountains. 

"  It  may  be  proper  to  state  that  the  position  of  Secretary 
to  the  Commission,  the  only  office  under  our  appointment 
whose  pay  is  fixed  in  our  instructions,  was  conferred,  De- 
cember 4th,  on  Major  Robert  H.  Armstrong,  of  Tennessee. 
Immediately  upon  our  arrival  at  San  Antonio,  Major  Bab- 
bit, U.  S.  Quartermaster  at  that  point,  called  to  inform  us 
that  he  had  received  instructions  to  furnish  transportation 
for  our  party  to  El  Paso.  As  he  did  not  favor  us  with  an 
opportunity  to  examine  his  instructions,  and  having  no 
reason  to  suppose  there  was  any  doubt  as  to  their  real 
import,  we  contented  ourselves  with  awaiting  his  arrange- 
ments on  the  subject,  which  he  stated  would  be  completed 
by  the  8th  of  January ;  and  we  did  not  learn  until  the  6th 
of  January,  a  few  days  prior  to  the  time  fixed  for  our  de- 
parture, that,  from  a  more  critical  examination  of  his  in- 


I  1 6       BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES   S.  TODD. 

structions,  he  found  his  authority  to  provide  transportation 
was  confined  exclusively  to  the  escort  accompanying  us. 
In  this  exigency,  and  from  a  statement  which  he  submitted 
to  us  as  to  the  enormous  expense  attending  our  journey  in 
mid-winter  as  compared  with  that  in  a  period  of  grass,  we 
determined  to  suspend  our  movements,  go  into  camp,  and 
await  instructions  from  the  Department.  The  letter  of 
Quartermaster  Babbit  will  present  a  full  view  of  this  sub- 
ject, and  we  request  that  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  part  of 
this  report. 

"  The  decision  to  remain  at  San  Antonio  until  the  sea- 
son of  grass  realized  a  saving  of  many  thousands  to  the 
public  treasury.  Subsequent  events  have  confirmed  the 
wisdom  of  that  determination.  The  refusal  of  Congress  to 
increase  our  appropriation,  as  well  as  the  reorganization 
of  the  Indian  Bureau,  by  which  our  powers  to  make  Indian 
treaties  were  abrogated,  would  have  placed  us  in  a  situation 
truly  embarrassing,  if  we  had  gone  in  mid-winter  to  El  Paso, 
and  thus  have  exhausted  the  existing  appropriation. 

"  It  is  competent  for  Congress  to  abandon  a  system  at 
one  session  which  it  instituted  at  a  previous  session,  but 
the  prudence  of  our  delay  at  San  Antonio  is  not  the  less 
apparent  from  this  vacillation  in  the  public  council.  During 
our  necessary  detention  at  San  Antonio,  it  was  our  wish  to 
seize  every  opportunity  of  procuring  any  information  that 
might  be  useful  to  our  future  operations.  With  this  view, 
Colonel  Temple  was  deputed,  early  in  February,  from  the 
camp  beyond  San  Antonio  to  proceed  to  Fort  Martin  Scott, 
the  military  post  (the  most  remote  to  the  Northwest),  to  be 
present  at  the  time  specified  in  the  treaty  with  Judge  Rollins, 
where  the  Indians  were  to  be  reassembled.  An  unfortunate 
discrepancy  between  the  parties  as  to  the  precise  day  for 
the  Council  prevented  Colonel  Temple  from  meeting  the 
Indians  as  he  had  anticipated  ;  they  having  appeared  the 
week  before,  and  then  returned  to  their  distant  camps. 

"  We  deemed  it  important  during  the  delay  in  making 
preparations  for  the  journey  to  El  Paso  to  open  a  com- 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.       117 

munication  with  the  Governor  of  Texas  in  reference  to  the 
probable  prospect  of  that  State  consenting  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  separate  boundary  for  the  Indians  in  her  limits ; 
and,  with  that  view,  addressed  a  letter,  of  the  2d  of  January, 
to  Governor  Bell,  to  which,  and  to  our  despatch  of  the  4th 
of  January,  enclosing  it  to  the  Department,  we  ask  to  refer 
as  a  part  of  the  report.  The  views  we  have  felt  it  our  duty 
to  submit  to  the  Department,  on  this  interesting  subject,  are 
further  illustrated  in  our  despatch  of  the  I3th  of  February, 
and  that  of  the  I5th  of  March,  enclosing  a  memorandum  of 
an  interview  with  Governor  Bell,  —  all  of  which  maybe 
regarded  as  entering  into  this  report. 

"  We  beg  leave  also  to  refer  to  the  despatch  of  the  4th  of 
April,  with  a  memorandum,  touching  the  interview  of  one  of 
the  Commissioners  of  Eagle  Pass  with  Coacohee,  or  '  Wild 
Cat,'  the  celebrated  Seminole  chief,  now  residing  in  Mexico." 

The  report  also  makes  mention  of  Colonel  Todd 
being  deputed  by  his  colleagues  to  go  to  Washing- 
ton for  the  further  views  of  the  Government,  while 
the  other  Commissioners  remained  in  Texas  until  his 
return.  They  all,  then,  repaired  to  Washington  for 
the  purpose  of  surrendering  their  commissions.  The 
report  concludes  with  the  following : 

"In  the  expenditure  which  we  thought  the  public  interest 
demanded,  we  have  included  five  hundred  pounds  of  the 
new  improved  meat  called  the  Beef  Biscuit,  manufactured  at 
Galveston,  Texas.  We  suppose,  this  amount  was  necessary 
for  an  expedition  originally  contemplated  to  continue  two 
years.  This  discovery  we  regard  as  a  national  benefit,  and  we 
recommend  its  use  in  all  military  and  exploring  expeditions. 
In  relation  to  the  Indian  agencies  in  Texas,  on  which  our 
instructions  require  us  to  report,-  we  have  no  hesitation  in 
suggesting  to  the  Department  the  policy  of  recommending  to 
Congress  the  creation  of  a  superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs 
in  Texas,  in  connection  with  sub-agencies  in  the  present 


I  1 8        BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

plan  of  several  independent  agencies.  The  simple  state- 
ment of  this  policy  carries  with  it  the  obvious  advantages 
of  uniform  and  harmonious  action,  and  is  sustained  by  the 
previous  practice  of  the  Government  in  conducting-  its 
Indian  relations  in  other  sections  of  our  country.  The 
objection  (which  it  is  hoped  may  soon  be  removed)  that 
the  United  States  have  no  authority  to  regulate  Indian 
affairs  in  Texas,  applies  as  well  to  the  present  system  of 
Indian  agencies  as  to  that  we  have  suggested ;  and  there 
are  considerations  connected  with  Indian  affairs  in  that 
State  which  peculiarly  recommend  this  policy  with  the 
frontier  from  whence  the  public  peace  of  the  settled  district 
of  Texas  and  Mexico  is  constantly  exposed  to  interrup- 
tions and  the  inhabitants  to  pillage  and  murder  from  roving 
Indians  to  whom  no  separate  territory  has  been  assigned, 
and  over  whom,  consequently,  the  intercourse-laws  of  the 
United  States  have  not  been  extended. 

"  In  venturing,  therefore,  to  recommend  the  establishment 
of  a  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  we  pre-suppose  that  it 
is  the  purpose,  at  an  early  day,  of  the  United  States,  as  well 
as  of  Texas,  to  enter  into  suitable  arrangements  by  which 
the  Indians  shall  be  induced  to  .remain  in  a  specified  boun- 
dary, and  their  tranquillity  so  secured  as  to  offer  no  possible 
pretext  for  the  wars  in  which  they  would  be  exterminated. 
This  salutary,  philanthropic  policy  may  tend  to  their  civil- 
ization by  teaching  them  to  cultivate  the  soil,  and  acquire 
individual  property,  and  domesticate  themselves,  so  far  at 
least  as  to  become  herdsmen  instead  of  living  like  wander- 
ing Arabs.  It  is  not  necessary,  in  this  view  of  the  subject, 
to  anticipate  the  condition  of  things,  when  the  wave  of 
colonized  population  shall  approach  the  specified  boundary, 
urging  their  removal  to  a  more  distant  frontier.  Their 
ultimate  fate  may  be  safely  confided  to  the  wisdom  and 
magnanimity  of  those  who  may  be  called  in  the  next 
generation  to  preside  over  the  national  councils. 

"  The  present  path  of  duty  and  honor  is  plain.  Both 
humanity  and  economy  concur  in  advocating  the  system 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        I  1 9 

we  have  suggested  as  proper  for  the  guidance  of  our  future 
Indian  relations  on  the  borders  of  the  United  States  and 
Mexico.  This  system  contemplates  arrangements  by  which 
incursions  into  Mexico,  as  well  as  Texas,  shall  be  restrained, 
and  the  separate  territory  proposed  to  be  secured  in  Texas 
lies  north  of  the  route  usually  travelled  to  El  Paso  and  New 
Mexico.  A  boundary  having  this  beneficial  provision  on 
the  entire  route  to  the  Pacific,  will  therefore  offer  induce- 
ments to  a  cordon  of  settlements  along  the  borders  of  the 
United  States  and  Mexico,  which,  with  the  military  advan- 
tages of  a  railroad,  will  supersede  the  necessity  of  any  con- 
siderable expenditure  in  the  establishment  of  military  posts. 

"  In  this  view  of  the  subject,  we  regard  a  railroad,  so  far 
as  its  establishment  may  be  within  the  provision  of  the 
Constitution,  contiguous  to  the  route  now  in  process  of 
demarkation,  and  extending  to  the  Pacific,  as  possessing 
eminent  tendencies  to  fulfil  our  treaty  stipulations,  one  of 
the  important  objects  contemplated  by  our  instructions. 
Without  any  designs  to  disparage  other  routes  to  the  Pacific, 
we  may  be  permitted  to  speak  of  the  great  advantages 
which  the  climate  and  topography  on  this  route  present,  for 
the  Gila,  erroneously  estimated  at  sixteen  hundred  miles,  is 
believed  to  be,  in  the  opinion  of  competent  officers  of  the 
Topographical  Bureau,  not  more  than  twelve  hundred;  and 
along  this  route  the  depressions  in  the  Rocky  Mountains 
are  pre-eminently  advantageous  for  the  construction  of  a 
railroad,  while  all  the  approaches  through  Texas  to  El  Paso 
on  the  Rio  Grande  present  the  most  inviting  considerations 
for  the  great  object. 

"  It  is  needless  to  expatiate  upon  the  value  of  a  railroad 
communication  across  the  continent  within  our  own  borders, 
whether  we  look  at  it  in  a  commercial,  political,  or  military 
point  of  view.  As  a  bond  of  union  between  the  States  on 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  its  importance  cannot  be  exagger- 
ated ;  and,  in  the  event  of  war  with  a  maritime  power,  the 
facility  which  it  would  afford  for  the  rapid  transportation 
and  sudden  concentration  of  an  armed  force,  will  render  our 


1 2O       BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

possessions  on  the  Pacific  as  impregnable,  as  the  late  war 
with  Great  Britain  proved  our  invincibility  along  the  At- 
lantic, Mississippi,  and  Lake  coasts. 

"  In  closing  this  report,  and  terminating  our  commission, 
we  have  the  honor  to  state  that  we  have  deposited  with  the 
proper  authorities  money  and  property  somewhat  less  than 
fourteen  thousand  dollars  of  the  thirty  thousand  dollars  ap- 
propriated by  the  Act  of  Congress  of  the  3Oth  of  September, 
1850." 

This  is  probably  the  only  instance  in  the  history 
of  the  Government,  when  any  moneys,  appropriated 
in  this  way,  have  ever  been  returned  to  the  Treasury. 
It  was  indeed  discreditable  to  Congress  that  further 
efforts  were  not  made  to  secure  the  invaluable  ser- 
vices of  the  accomplished  gentlemen. 

The  report  is  particularly  interesting,  inasmuch  as  it 
refers  to  the  construction  of  a  railroad  to  the  Pacific. 

Colonel  Todd  was  amonof  the   first  of  American 

o 

statesmen  who  advocated  and  demonstrated  the 
practicability  of  such  a  road.  The  difficulties  to  be 
overcome,  at  that  time,  were  indeed  great ;  they  were 
almost  insurmountable.  The  enemies  of  the  road 
did  all  they  could  against  it,  and  proclaimed  those 
who  were  in  favor  of  it  to  be  wild  and  thoughtless 
schemers.  It  was  said  that  Sierra  Nevada  was  im- 
passable ;  that  snow  and  ice  were  piled  from  forty  to 
sixty  feet  high ;  that  there  was  scarcely  room  for  a 
driver  to  walk  by  the  side  of  his  mule  ;  that  travellers 
were  often  lost  and  frozen  to  death  in  the  mountains, 
&c.  Colonel  Todd  was  constantly  busy  with  his  pen 
agitating  the  subject. 

In  the  Report  of  the  United  States  Board  of  Engi- 
neers sent  out  by  the  War  Department,  the  plan  he 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        I  2  I 

suggested  was  the  most  highly  commended.  Almost 
everything  he  wrote  received  the  attention  of  the 
leading  journalists,  the  statesmen,  and  capitalists,  of 
the  country.  The  friends  of  the  route  through  Texas 
to  El  Paso  on  the  Rio  Grande,  and  the  friends  of  the 
Central  route,  united  their  strength  in  Congress,  and 
gave  a  two-thirds  vote  in  favor  of  it.  The  measure 
would  have  certainly  passed,  had  not  Texas  resolved 
to  secede.  The  bill  loaned  the  credit  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  the  Central  route  to  the  extent  of  ninety  mil- 
lion dollars,  and  sixty  million  dollars  to  the  Southern 
route.  These  loans  were  to  be  returned  to  the 
Government  in  transportation. 

The  war  broke  out,  and  raged  with  uninterrupted 
fury.  Millions  upon  millions  had  been  spent  to  put 
down  the  rebellion  ;  but  nothing,  it  would  seem,  could 
destroy  the  interest  taken  in  the  Pacific  railroad  even 
then. 

Colonel  Todd's  observation,  in  the  report  quoted 
above,  that  the  construction  of  the  road  would  induce 
a  cordon  of  settlements  along  the  borders  of  the 
frontier  States,  thereby  doing  away  with  the  neces- 
sity of  military  outposts,  was  at  that  time  an  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  the  road. 

The  average  cost  of  a  regiment  of  soldiers  is  said 
to  be  more  than  a  million  a  year ;  and,  when  we  con- 
sider the  number  of  troops  required  to  quell  the  dis- 
position to  war  on  the  part  of  the  North  American 
Indians,  we  can  see  at  a  glance  the  force  of  the 
argument. 

16 


122       BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Colonel  Todd  prepares  a  Series  of  Articles  on  Texas  —  Letter  from  Daniel 
Webster  to  Colonel  Todd  —  Colonel  Todd  prepares  a  Sketch  of  Tecum- 
seh  for  the  Louisville  Journal —  He  proposes  to  write  the  Early  History 
of  Kentucky  —  An  Incident  in  the  College  Life  of  Colonel  Todd  —  His 
Confidential  Report  to  the  War  Department  in  1815. 

DURING  Colonel  Todd's  sojourn  in  Texas  as 
a  Commissioner,  he  prepared  for  the  press  a 
series  of  articles  on  the  agricultural  and  mineral 
resources  of  Texas.  Their  publication  attracted  no 
little  attention  in  the  South  and  Southwest.  The 
intimate  acquaintance  he  displayed  with  geological 
and  other  scientific  subjects  well  merited  the  com- 
mendation he  received. 

Colonel  Todd  is  the  author  of  the  best  account  of 
the  battle  of  the  Thames  ever  published. 

The  following  beautiful  letter  from  Daniel  Webster 
to  Colonel  Todd  shows  the  esteem  in  which  that  great 
statesman  and  orator  held  the  subject  of  this  memoir, 
and  the  great  confidence  he  had  in  his  judgment  and 
integrity : 

"WASHINGTON,  November  6th,  1851. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for 
your  friendly  feelings  and  the  very  favorable  sentiments 
towards  me,  which  you  are  pleased  to  express.  We  were 
intimately  acquainted  formerly,  in  the  days  of  the  good 
President  Harrison,  who  was,  I  know,  your  fast  and  unal- 
terable friend.  I  shall  always  cherish  the  highest  respect 
for  his  memory  and  character. 

"  I  should  be  very  glad  to  see  you.     Nobody  can  tell, 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        I  2  3 

my  dear  sir,  what  times  are  before  us.  I  think  that  good 
men,  and  lovers  of  their  country,  should  stand  together, 
and  act  together.  I  have  the  truest  confidence  in  you,  both 
as  to  your  fidelity  and  ability.  You  are  in  the  vigor  of 
life,  active,  and  well  known  to  very  many  good  men  and 
true  friends  of  the  Government ;  and,  certainly,  you  can 
do  much  good.  You  need  not  doubt  of  my  good  wishes 
now,  and  at  all  times.  I  repeat  that,  if  not  inconvenient, 
I  hope  you  will  come  this  way. 

"  Yours  truly,  DANIEL  WEBSTER." 

"  To  COLONEL  C.  S.  TODD." 

In  1862  Colonel  Todd  wrote  a  very  charming 
sketch,  for  the  Louisville  Journal,  of  Tecumseh,  the 
great  Indian  warrior.  This  article  completely  settles 
the  vexed  question  as  to  "  who  killed  Tecumseh." 

The  manner  in  which  Colonel  Todd  disposes  of 
the  claims  of  the  many  aspirants  to  the  honor  of 
having  killed  Tecumseh  is  so  clear  and  pointed,  ana 
at  the  same  time  so  severe  and  just,  that  no  one,  I 
think,  who  has  read  the  article,  would  care  to  open 
the  subject  for  discussion  again. 

The  account  g*iven  by  the  English  historian,  James, 
is  completely  overthrown  in  Colonel  Todd's  article. 
James  ascribed  the  honor  of  killing  the  gifted  King 
of  the  Woods  to  Colonel  Richard  M.  Johnson,  of  Ken- 
tucky. We  learn  from  Colonel  Todd's  article  that 
General  Harrison  was  the  only  officer  in  the  army, 
engaged  in  the  battle,  who  had  ever  seen  Tecumseh  ; 
and  that  Harrison  did  not  know  that  Tecumseh  was 
killed  until  some  time  after  the  engagement.  Colonel 
Todd  also  says  that  all  accounts  of  Harrison's  recog- 
nizing the  body  of  Tecumseh,  and  expressing  the 
opinion  that  he  fell  by  the  hand  of  Colonel  Johnson, 


124       BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES   S.  TODD. 

are  fabled  and  entitled  to  no  credit  whatever.  It  is 
not  known  who  killed  him.  That  this  subject  should 
attract  so  much  attention  is  not  at  all  strange,  for 
Tecumseh  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  that 
ever  lived.  He  displayed  not  only  the  greatest  qual- 
ities of  a  warrior,  but  of  an  orator  and  a  statesman. 
He  seemed  ever  to  be  actuated  by  the  loftiest  am- 
bition. Though  his  hatred  for  the  whites  was  severe 
and  unmeasured,  his  mode  of  warfare  was  wholly  free 
from  the  brutal  cruelty  of  his  race,  while  his  ideas  of 
honor  were  chivalric  in  every  sense  of  the  word. 
Had  he  lived,  it  is  not  improbable  that  much  would 
have  been  done  toward  carrying  out  the  great  object 
of  his  life,  viz. :  that  of  collecting  together  the  scat- 
tered tribes  of  North  America,  and  establishing  an 
Indian  monarchy  on  the  continent. 

Colonel  Todd,  a  short  time  before  his  death,  was 
at  work  upon  a  series  of  articles  in  reference  to  the 
Early  History  of  Kentucky.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  he  did  not  live  to  complete  them. 

George  D.  Prentice,  of  the  Louisville  Journal,  said, 
when  he  heard  that  Colonel  Todd  was  engaged  on 
the  History  of  Kentucky  :  "  There  is  no  man  in  all 
the  world  so  well  qualified  for  the  task  as  he.  I  shall 
await  the  perusal  of  Colonel  Todd's  work  with  no 
ordinary  pleasure." 

An  incident  happened  to  Colonel  Todd  while  at 
college,  which  I  will  relate.  The  Hon.  John  J.  Bar- 
bour,  of  Virginia,  nephew  of  Governor  Barbour  of 
that  State,  very  grossly  insulted  Colonel  Todd. 
Barbour  was  armed  at  the  time ;  but  in  almost  the 
same  instant  that  he  gave  the  insult,  Colonel  Todd 
turned  upon  him  and  thrashed  him  severely  with  his 
walking-cane.  Soon  after  this  castigation,  Barbour 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.        125 

sent  a  challenge  to  Colonel  Todd,  who  could  not 
accept  it,  as  Bishop  Madison  was  his  security  in  a 
civil  process  to  keep  the  peace.  Colonel  Todd,  in 
declining  the  challenge,  explained  his  reason  for  so 
doing ;  but  stated  he  would  fight  him  as  soon  as  he 
was  released  from  his  bond  to  keep  the  peace. 
Barbour  was  afterward  a  member  of  Congress  from 
Virginia,  and  nominated  General  Pierce  for  the 
Presidency  at  the  Baltimore  Convention. 

When  Colonel  Todd  returned  from  his  mission  to 
South  America,  Barbour  endeavored  to  reinstate 
himself  in  his  favor,  and  wrote  a  letter  to  him,  in 
1824,  to  that  effect.  I  have  the  original  letter,  to- 
gether with  a  copy  of  Colonel  Todd's  reply  to  it,  and 
I  see  no  good  reason  for  not  publishing  them.  The 
following  is  the  correspondence  : 

"WASHINGTON,   April    I5th,  1824. 

"SiR:  —  Juvenile  attachments  are  said  to  be  the  most 
lasting  which  the  human  heart  can  cherish.  It  is  equally 
true  that  juvenile  feuds  are  the  most  fleeting  and  transitory. 
What  our  experience  has  been  in  regard  to  this  influence 
should  not,  I  think,  at  this  moment  be  a  matter  of  inquiry. 
For  myself,  I  say  to  you  candidly  and  fearlessly  that  I 
desire  to  revive  the  former  of  these  sentiments,  and  give 
the  latter  to  oblivion.  I  shall  not  do  you  the  injustice  to 
suspect  that  this  note  may  be  misconstrued.  On  the  con- 
trary, I  shall  be  gratified  to  learn  a  reciprocal  inclination  in 
your  breast. 

"  I  am,  Sir,  respectfully  yours,  J.  J.  BARBOUR." 

"  BROWN'S  HOTEL,  April  i6th,  1824. 

"SiR — I  have  been  favored  by  the  receipt  of  your  note 
of  yesterday,  and  hasten  to  assure  you  of  my  concurrence 
in  the  sentiments  you  have  suggested.  The  unpleasant 
controversy  to  which  you  refer  was  very  shortly  afterward 
consigned  to  oblivion.  I  am  not  aware  that  I  had  then,  or 


126       BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES   S.  TODD. 

at  any  subsequent  period,  cause  to  revive  a  recollection  of  it 
It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  say,  that  it  will  give  me  pleasure 
to  unite  with  you  in  reviving  and  promoting  a  friendly  feel- 
ing and  intercourse,  and  with  that  view  I  shall  be  happy  to 
see  you  whenever  your  convenience  may  permit. 
"  I  am,  Sir,  very  respectfully  yours, 

"C.  S.  TODD." 

Circumstances,  however,  prevented  them  from  re- 
newing their  acquaintance.  Barbour  called  to  see 
Todd,  but  did  not  find  him  at  home ;  and  when  Todd 
returned  the  visit,  Barbour  was  absent. 

I  must  not  forget  to  make  mention  of  the  Con- 
fidential report  Colonel  Todd  made  to  the  War 
Department  in  1815. 

The  report  was  forwarded  to  the  board  of  officers 
selected  by  the  President  to  arrange  the  peace,  and 
to  reduce  the  nominal  amount  of  the  army  of  fifty 
thousand  to  ten  thousand  men.  By  this  arrangement 
four-fifths  of  the  officers  were  to  be  removed. 

Colonel  Todd's  report  elicited  the  highest  com- 
mendation for  its  discriminating  fairness  and  impar- 
tiality. General  Winfield  Scott  was  President  of 
the  Board,  and  remarked  to  a  party  of  friends  at  the 
house  of  General  Preston,  that,  as  General  Harrison 
had  resigned,  and  Generals  Jackson  and  Gaines  were 
absent,  the  Board  looked  to  Colonel  Todd's  report  for 
information  in  regard  to  the  officers  in  the  West,  and 
that  the  Board  regarded  the  report  as  the  most  intel- 
ligent and  practical  of  any  rendered  to  the  Depart- 
ment, and  that  they  made  it  the  basis  of  their  se- 
lection. 

Colonel  Todd  was  then  only  twenty-four  years  of 
age.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  new  Register  con- 
tained no  name  on  which  he  had  placed  a  black  mark. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.    TODD. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Colonel  Todd  takes  an  Active  Part  in  the  Taylor  Campaign  —  His  Charac- 
teristics as  a  Popular  Orator — His  Opinions  of  Jefferson  and  Jackson  — 
His  Acquaintance  with  the  Presidents  —  His  Admiration  of  Madison  — 
His  Accomplishments  as  a  Man  of  the  World  —  His  Moral  Character- 
istics —  Anecdote  of  Bernadotte,  King  of  Sweden. 

IN  1848  Colonel  Todd  took  an  active  part  in  the 
Presidential  contest  between  General  Taylor  and 
General  Cass.  Colonel  Todd  spoke  at  nearly  all  the 
large  political  meetings  in  Ohio.  He  also  addressed 
the  people  at  various  points  in  Pennsylvania,  New 
York,  Massachusetts,  and  Connecticut.  His  finest 
speech  was  at  Lowell,  Mass.  I  have  never  read  an 
abler  and  a  more  conscientious  and  painstaking  doc- 
ument than  his  speech  at  Lowell.  It  is  a  thorough 
and  a  complete  elucidation  of  the  political  questions 
of  the  day,  as  well  as  a  just  and  noble  tribute  to  the 
distinguished  services  of  General  Taylor.  It  was  not 
without  its  effects  in  that  canvass.  General  Taylor 
was  very  proud  of  it,  and  said  that  he  did  not  fear 
the  result  of  the  contest  when  such  able  speeches 
were  made  in  his  behalf.  Colonel  Todd's  arguments 
were  always  closely  considered,  and  in  every  way 
calculated  to  assert  truth  and  to  refute  falsehood. 
There  was  no  clap-trap  nonsense  about  him;  no- 
thing said  merely  for  effect,  and  his  opponents  were 
usually  so  hemmed  in  by  the  array  of  facts  he  brought 
against  them,  that  there  was  not  the  slightest  gap 
left  open  for  escape.  He  was  thoroughly  versed  in 
the  history  of  the  country,  and  was  never  at  a  loss 


128        BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

in  regard  to  facts  and  dates  of  important  political 
events.  I  remember  asking  him,  on  one  occasion, 
what  he  thought  of  the  Jeffersonian  Democracy,  and 
he  said  :  "  I  suppose,  in  speaking  of  the  Jeffersonian 
Democracy,  you  make  a  distinction  between  it  and 
the  Jackson  Democracy?  "  I  was  about  to  say  that 
the  difference  was  not  very  plainly  marked,  when  he 
said:  " General  Jackson  and  Mr.  Van  Buren  intro- 
duced a  new  Democratic  party,  after  the  old  parties, 
the  Federal  and  Democratic,  had  passed  away  during 
the  administration  of  Mr.  Monroe.  From  1798  to 
1815  a  great  struggle  existed  between  the  old  par- 
ties, and  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  General  Jackson 
recommended  to  Mr.  Monroe  to  discard  politics  alto- 
gether in  the  selection  of  his  Cabinet,  and  urged  him 
to  select  from  both  parties.  Such  was  Jackson's  own 
practice  when  he  came  into  power ;  for  instance,  he 
appointed  Livingston  and  McLean,  who  were  strong 
Federalists,  and  formed  a  new  party  of  those  who 
had  voted  for  him,  and  called  it  the  Democratic 
party. 

"Jackson  and  Jefferson,"  Colonel  Todd  said,  "were 
indeed  great  leaders,  but  with  altogether  different 
principles  and  temperaments.  Jackson  had  great 
genius  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  men  and  things, 
united  to  an  indomitable  will,  which  enabled  him,  with 
scarcely  the  ordinary  accomplishments  of  a  gentle- 
man, to  guide  the  policy  of  the  nation.  Jefferson  could 
not  do  more,  though  he  was  splendidly  educated,  and 
had  mingled  with  the  greatest  scholars  and  intellects 
of  Europe  and  America.  He  had  talent  for  control- 
ling public  affairs.  He  was  a  strong  man,  as  well  as 
a  learned  man.  He  was  both  a  statesman  and  a 
philosopher." 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        129 

I  then  asked  Colonel  Todd  what  he  thought  of 
Randall's  Life  of  Jefferson.  Colonel  Todd  said  :  "It 
is  a  fine  account  of  Jefferson  ;  but  that  author,  in  pub- 
lishing Jefferson's  writings,  published  too  much,  for 
Jefferson  was  of  the  French  school  in  both  religion 
and  politics.  He  loved  his  country,  I  believe,  with 
unabated  ardor,  and  appears  to  a  splendid  advantage 
in  many  phases  of  character ;  but  he  will  not  go  down 
to  posterity  with  the  pure  and  unsullied  principles  of 
Madison,  who  was  at  once  the  ablest  and  the  most 
beautiful  of  all  our  public  men." 

Colonel  Todd  once  told  me  that  he  had  seen  all 
the  American  Presidents,  with  the  exception  of  Wash- 
ington and  the  elder  Adams,  and  had  an  intimate 
personal  acquaintance  with  most  of  them.  He  said : 
"I  saw  Mr.  Jefferson  on  the  day  he  left  his  office  ;  I 
being  present  at  the  inauguration  of  Madison,  having 
gone  to  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  my 
father,  who  was  then  one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Su- 
preme Court.  My  intercourse  was  very  intimate 
with  Madison,  and  Monroe,  and  John  Quincy  Adams, 
and  Harrison,  and,  more  or  less  so,  with  Tyler,  Tay- 
lor, Fillmore,  Pierce,  Buchanan,  and  Lincoln." 

At  another  time  he  said :  "  I  have  many  letters 
from  prominent  men  throughout  the  country,  and 
there  is  not  one  among  them  that  is  not  worthy  of 
your  attention  and  perusal.  I  treasure  most  the 
letters  of  Harrison,  Mr.  Clay,  General  Cass,  and  Mr. 
Webster.  I  have  a  number  of  Buchanan's  letters ; 
but  I  never  like  to  read  them.  He  was  an  old 
Federalist,  turning  to  a  Jackson  Democrat." 

On  another  occasion,  in  speaking  to  me  of  our 
Presidents,  Colonel  Todd  said :  "  It  is  a  creditable 
17 


I3O       BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

fact  that  every  one  of  our  Presidents  selected  one  of 
the  ablest  men  in  his  party  for  Secretary  of  State  ; 
and  this  fact  has  rendered  our  correspondence  with 
foreign  countries  fully  as  good  as  the  most  distin- 
guished State  papers  of  Great  Britain  and  France,  if 
not  better." 

I  asked  him  what  he  thought  of  the  correspond- 
ence he  had  with  some  of  the  distinguished  Russian 
statesmen,  and  he  said :  "  The  State  papers  are 
generally  indifferent;  those  of  Count  Nesselrode  are 
the  only  ones  that  will  at  all  compare  favorably  with 
ours." 

In  regard  to  Jefferson's  State  papers,  he  said : 
"  Among  the  papers  of  George  Wythe,  of  Virginia, 
who  was  one  of  the  committee  to  report  on  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence,  was  the  original  report  of  Mr. 
Jefferson,  which  Judge  Wythe  says  was  'altered  for 
the  worse '  by  the  committee.  It  was  arranged,  as 
you  doubtless  know,  that  each  member  should  pre- 
pare a  paper  to  be  submitted  to  a  sub-committee,  or 
two,  for  consideration  and  report.  Mr.  Jefferson, 
being  the  first-named  upon  the  committee,  was  called 
upon  first,  and,  after  his  paper  was  read,  the  other 
gentlemen  declined  to  read  theirs,  and  the  sub-com- 
mittee accepted  Mr.  Jefferson's.  This  was,  of  course, 
Jefferson's  ablest  State  paper,  if  not  the  greatest 
paper  ever  written.  His  Inaugural  Address  is  also 
a  masterpiece  of  composition." 

In  person,  Colonel  Todd  was  rather  above  than 
below  the  medium  height,  and  was  stoutly  and  com- 
pactly built.  His  complexion  was  fair,  and  his  eyes 
were  of  a  dark  hazel,  and  of  a  singular  brilliancy  of 
expression.  His  bearing  and  manners  were  dignified 
and  elegant  in  the  extreme.  He  was  a  thorough 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        13! 

gentleman  of  the  old  school.  No  prince  or  courtier 
ever  transcended  him  in  politeness.  He  had  one  of 
the  clearest  and  richest  and  most  musical  voices  I 
ever  heard.  ,  He  was  altogether  the  best  conversa- 
tionist with  whom  I  have  ever  been  thrown  in  contact. 
He  was  a  model  of  a  drawing-room  companion.  He 
knew  how  to  show,  to  both  gentlemen  and  ladies, 
those  little  attentions  which  come  only  from  gentle 
blood  and  good  breeding.  He  dearly  loved  children  ; 
he  would  take  them  for  hours  at  a  time  on  his  knee, 
and  listen  to  their  prattle  with  as  much  attention  ap- 
pardntly  as  he  would  listen  to  the  wisdom  of  a  phi- 
losopher ;  he  had  always  a  welcoming  smile  to  the 
little  ones  who  entered  his  room,  and,  when  engaged 
in  writing,  he  would  cheerfully  lay  aside  his  work  and 
join  in  a  romp,  or  play,  with  them.  He  believed  that 
the  only  happiness  in  the  world  consisted  in  doing 
good,  and  he  did  good  for  others  all  the  days  of  his 
life.  He  was  ever  ready  to  forget  and  forgive  those 
who  had  wronged  him ;  he  could  not  be  otherwise 
than  just  and  true  and  noble,  for  he  was  himself  a 
living  and  an  essential  truth.  Heaven  was  kindly  to 
him  to  the  last,  and  ever  kept  his  heart  full  of  pure 
and  sweet  and  gentle  emotions.  It  was  a  common 
saying  among  his  friends  that  he  never  grew  old  ;  and, 
indeed,  I  have  never  known  any  one  who  seemed  to 
preserve  to  such  an  advanced  age  the  vigor  and 
freshness  of  young  manhood.  When  nearly  eighty 
years  of  age,  he  did  not  look  to  me  more  than  fifty ; 
and  when  fifty  years  of  age,  he  would  readily  have 
passed  for  a  man  of  thirty.  I  will  relate  an  instance, 
to  confirm  what  I  have  said  of  his  youthful  appearance. 
On  one  occasion,  when  he  was  in  Europe,  he  was 
presented  by  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to 


132       BIOGRAPHY    OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

Bernadotte,  king  of  Sweden.  The  king  hesitated  to 
address  him,  as  he  appeared  to  be  so  much  younger 
than  he  expected.  Bernadotte  viewed  him  for  a  mo- 
ment as  if  examining  a  recruit,  but  soon  extended 
his  hand,  and  said,  in  French  :  "  Pardon  me,  sir ;  the 
gentleman  the  pleasure  of  whose  call  I  was  expecting 
I  did  not  think  to  be  younger  than  fifty  or  fifty-five 
years  of  age  ;  and  you,  sir,  do  not  look  to  be  more 
than  thirty,  or  thirty-five  at  most."  After  a  pleasant 
exchange  of  compliments,  the  king  proposed  to  sit 
on  the  sofa — a  distinction,  I  believe,  not  often  con- 
ferred at  state  presentations.  Bernadotte  spoke  of 
having  been  selected  by  Napoleon  to  be  Governor- 
General  of  Louisiana ;  but  said  the  transfer  of  that 
province  prevented  him  from  acting  in  that  capacity. 
"  I  examined,"  he  continued,  "the  adjacent  States,  and 
am  glad  to  see  that  the  Kentuckians,  who  were  to  be 
my  neighbors,  have  effected  the  improvements  I  con- 
templated." 

Colonel  Todd  was  much  pleased  with  this  refer- 
ence to  Kentucky.  The  king,  then,  asked  about 
Mr.  Monroe,  and  said  that  he  had  seen  him  in  Paris. 
Bernadotte  said,  in  this  interview :  "  Mr.  Monroe,  I 
believe,  appointed  you  minister  to  Colombia  ?  "  and, 
on  being  assured  that  he  had,  Bernadotte  continued: 
"  I  have  always  been  interested  in  South  America, 
and  will  never  cease  to  regret  that  their  republics 
have  not  the  stability  of  the  United  States." 

In  the  conversation,  which  was  prolonged  for  some 
time,  the  American  Minister  spoke  of  Louisiana 
forming  one  of  the  claims  of  the  American  Govern- 
ment to  Oregon.  The  king  said  he  hoped  that  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States  would  not  go  to  war 
about  it. 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.        133 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Colonel  Todd's  Embarrassed  Fortunes  —  His  Personal  Resemblance  to  Louis 
Philippe  —  Anecdote  of  that  Monarch  —  Colonel  Todd's  Zeal  for  the  Pre- 
servation of  the  Union  —  His  Claim  to  a  High  Military  Appointment  in 
the  Civil  War  acknowledged  but  not  discharged  —  Evil  Effects  of  Con- 
ferring Military  Appointments  on  Civilians  —  Colonel  Todd's  Military 
Talents  —  He  severs  his  Connection  with  the  Gazette. 

PERHAPS  I  ought  not  to  forget  to  mention  the 
great  and  successful  efforts  Colonel  Todd  made 
in  freeing  himself  from  his  embarrassed  fortunes,  in 
early  life,  from  the  effects  of  a  committal  with  a  friend 
in  trade,  who  died  in  the  first  year.  He  was  called 
to  manage  a  business  for  which  he  was  not  edu- 
cated ;  and,  from  the  sudden  revulsion  of  the  times, 
by  which  real  estate  depreciated  fifty  to  seventy-five 
per  cent.,  he  had  to  contend  with  an  enormous  debt 
for  more  than  thirty  years.  He  could  have  avoided 
it  by  taking  the  benefit  of  the  Bankrupt  law,  but  he 
resolved,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of  his  domestic  com- 
fort, to  go  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  if  necessary,,  to 
become  a  free  man.  In  this  struggle,  as  in  all  other 
efforts,  he  was  well  sustained  by  the  excellent  sense 
and  untiring  energy  of  his  devoted  wife. 

Colonel  Todd,  it  is  said,  bore  a  strong  personal 
likeness  to  Louis  Philippe,  king  of  France.  I  never 
saw  the  latter,  and  am,  of  course,  unable  to  tell 
whether  the  resemblance  was  marked  or  not.  I 
have  heard,  however,  a  story  of  Colonel  Todd  being 
taken  for  Louis  Philippe  as  he  was  coming  out  of  a 
theatre  in  Paris,  where  Rachel  had  been  playing. 


134       BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES   S.  TODD. 

Some  persons  had  seen  Colonel  Todd  in  the  theatre, 
and  taking  him  for  the  king,  started  the  story  that 
the  king  was  there  in  disguise.  Speaking  of  Louis 
Philippe  reminds  me  of  something  Colonel  Todd  said 
about  him.  "  I  saw  Louis  Philippe,"  said  the  Colonel, 
"  once  or  twice  while  in  Europe,  and  I  do  not  think 
that  I  have  ever  met  a  man  of  such  a  remarkable 
memory  as  he.  Louis  Philippe  had  been  to  this  coun- 
try, and  seemed  to  remember  everything  he  saw. 
On  a  visit  to  Lexington,  Ky.,  he  met  a  Miss  Polly 
Todd,  a  belle  and  heiress  of  that  place,  and  when  I 
saw  him  in  Europe,  he  inquired  about  her,  and 
showed  me  how  she  used  her  fan,  and  described  the 
quick  and  lively  movement  of  her  countenance.  He 
also  asked  me  about  his  landlord,  Thomas,  and  about 
Bush,  the  hotel-keeper  at  Frankfort,  Ky.  Louis 
Philippe,  in  the  same  interview,  spoke  of  the  horrible 
taste  of  the  salt  and  sulphur  of  the  Blue  Lick  water, 
and  said  that  the  worst  evil  he  wished  his  enemies 
was  that  they  might  be  compelled  to  drink  it." 

When  the  war  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Union 
began,  Colonel  Todd  was  in  Texas,  and  he  hastened 
to  Washington  and  offered  his  services  to  the  coun- 
try. The  Administration,  for  some  reason,  did  not 
give  him  an  appointment.  The  Secretary  pf  War 
said  that  he  ought  to  have  nothing  less  than  a  major- 
generalship  ;  but  he  assigned  as  a  reason  for  not 
giving  the  appointment,  that  the  arrangement  by 
which  Secretary  Cameron  was  sent  to  Russia,  and 
the  Hon.  C.  M.  Clay  given  a  major-generalship,  had 
filled  the  quota  of  Kentucky.  This  treatment  of 
Colonel  Todd  cannot  well  be  overlooked.  General 
Sherman  said  that  he  should  be  glad  to  serve  under 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.       135 

him ;  and  Col.  O'Fallon,  himself  a  gallant  officer  of 
the  war  of  1812,  distinguished  for  gallantry  at  Tip- 
pecanoe,  Fort  Meigs,  and  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames, 
earnestly  and  eloquently  urged  the  Secretary  to  give 
some  sort  of  position  to  Colonel  Todd,  by  which  the 
country  could  derive  advantages  from  his  military 
experience,  &c.  ;  but  the  Secretary  had  taken  his 
stand,  and  his  decision  was  as  irreversible  as  the  laws 
of  the  Medes  and  Persians.  The  country  learned  too 
late  the  folly  of  appointing  civilians  and  inexperienced 
soldiers  to  high  military  positions.  It  was  one  of  the 
great'mistakes  with  which  the  war  began,  and  it  was 
kept  up  long  after  experience  had  shown  how  dis- 
astrous was  its  operation.  Undoubtedly,  it  involved 
a  terrible  cost  to  the  nation  both  in  money  and  in 
life  ;  it  protracted  the  war,  and  for  years  rendered 
the  result  doubtful  ;  it  brought  upon  us  nearly  all  of 
our  defeats.  If  the  absurd  military  ambition  of  poli- 
ticians had  been  repressed  or  withstood  ;  if  aspiring 
civilians,  who  never  set  a  squadron  in  the  field,  had 
not,  by  unworthy  influences  upon  public  men  too 
much  subject  to  such  influences,  procured  appoint- 
ments to  positions  in  which  they  weakly  dreamed  of 
hewing  their  way  to  the  Presidency  with  their  swords  ; 
if  men  educated  to  war,  and  experienced  in  war,  had 
been  as  fully  relied  on  as  they  should  have  been,  and 
in  any  other  country  would  have  been,  to  conduct  the 
war,  —  the  work  which  extended  with  constantly 
varying  fortunes  through  nearly  four  years,  would, 
in  all  probability,  have  been  brought  to  a  triumphant 
close  in  two  ;  and  our  country  would  now  be  enjoy- 
ing all  the  blessings  that  a  benignant  heaven  could 
bestow  upon  a  grateful  earth. 


136       BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

None  who  knew  Colonel  Todd  can  doubt  that,  in 
the  war  of  the  rebellion,  he  would,  with  fair  oppor- 
tunities, have  achieved  much  for  his  country.  His 
genius,  his  temperament,  his  deportment,  his  habits 
of  thought,  were  decidedly  and  essentially  military. 
He  lacked  no  one  of  the  qualities  of  a  great  com- 
mander—  he  possessed  them  all  in  an  eminent  degree. 
As  knightly  as  any  crusader  that  ever  fought  in 
Palestine,  he  was  calm  amid  deadliest  perils  when 
calmness  was  needed,  and  as  impetuous  as  a  storm 
when  impetuosity  was  demanded.  In  the  field,  he 
would  never  have  failed  in  the  fertility  of  his  resources, 
or  in  the  clearness,  rapidity,  and  force  of  his  strategic 
combinations.  His  great  military  powers  improved 
by  long  and  arduous  service  through  all  his  life,  and 
were  disciplined  by  thoughtful  and  severe  study. 
All  the  military  authorities  were  familiar  to  him,  and 
probably  there  is  no  volume  upon  the  art  of  war  that 
he  would  not  have  rendered  more  valuable  by  his 
comments. 

Colonel  Todd,  in  his  civil  and  military  service, 
adorned  both,  and  he  achieved  victories  in  both. 
When  he  departed  from  among  us,  he  probably  did 
not  leave  a  single  peer  behind. 

In  June,  1867,  Colonel  Todd,  in  a  letter  to  me, 
thus  refers  to  his  proposed  volume  on  the  history  of 
Kentucky : 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR  :  —  Yesterday  I  prepared  an  introduction 
to  the  '  Sketches  in  the  Early  History  of  Kentucky,'  which 
I  shall  retain  until  I  am  able  to  prepare  the  first  three  or 
four  chapters.  Some  of  my  friends  here  say  that  the 
Gazette  is  the  best  agricultural  paper  in  the  State.  Let  us 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        137 

make  it  what  it  ought  to  be.     Address  me  at  Shelbyville, 
Ky.,  until  Saturday. 

"Yours  very  truly,  C.  S.  TODD." 

A  few  weeks  after  I  received  this  letter,  Colonel 
Todd  notified  me  that  he  intended  to  resign  his  posi- 
tion on  the  Gazette,  on  account  of  his  being  compelled 
to  be  absent  so  much  from  the  city.  , 

In  a  few  weeks  after  Colonel  Todd's  resignation, 
I  also  severed  my  connection  with  the  paper.  The 
old  association  was  broken  up.  I  had  no  longer  a 
staff  to  lean  upon,  and  my  work  became  neither 
pleasant  nor  profitable  to  me. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Colonel  Todd's  Friendship  for  the  Author  —  His  Opinion  of  Actors  and 
Acting  —  His  Exalted  Estimate  of  the  Character  of  Dr.  Theodore  S. 
Bell  —  A  Letter  to  the  Author  —  Colonel  Todd's  Address  before  the 
Perry  Monument  Association  —  Friendship  between  Colonel  Todd  and 
the  Hon.  J.  Scott  Harrison. 

COLONEL  TODD  enjoyed  excellent  health  up 
to  the  time  of  his  last  illness.  He  took  a 
deep  interest  in  my  literary  career,  and  always  com- 
plimented me  by  asking  my  opinion  of  his  own  articles. 
When  absent  from  Louisville  he  wrote  me  almost 
every  week.  I  give  below  an  extract  from  a  letter, 
dated  May  i8th,  1868:  "We  had  a  pleasant  trip 

on  the  steamer  to  New  Orleans.     Mr.  was  a 

passenger,  and    met  me  with    great  cordiality,  and 
tried  to  talk  to  me  about  his  paper,  and  asked  me  if 

18 


138       BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

I  knew  the  present  editor  ;  but  I  waived  the  whole 
subject.  I  wish  my  business  arrangements  would 
allow  me  to  see  Mr.  Draper,  the  historian,  at  your 
house.  Remember  me  kindly  to  him,  and  your  poet 
wife,  who  will  greatly  enjoy  his  company." 

In  February,  1869,  he  wrote:  "I  am  gratified  by 
the  opinion  you  express  as  to  General  Grant.  He 
will  make  the  best  President  we  have  had  since  the 
days  of  Washington.  I  think  you  ought  to  hesitate 
long  before  you  invest  money  in  a  newspaper.  I 
am  glad  you  have  such  confidence  in  Dr.  Gross,  of 
Philadelphia.  I  wish  for  you  the  very  best  results 
from  his  treatment.  I  trust  Mr.  Prentice  is  well;  his 
verses  to  sweet  Virgiline  are  exquisitely  beautiful. 
By  the  way,  I  should  like  you  to  read  Mr.  Maxwell's 
book  entitled 'The  Czar — His  Court  and  People.' 
It  contains  an  account,  also,  of  Norway  and  Sweden, 
which  he  visited  in  1844.  You  ask  me  what  I  think 
of  Prescott.  You  know  my  opinion  of  Mr.  Motley ; 
and  I  am  at  a  loss  to  tell  which  is  the  greate  r  of  the 
two." 

A  few  weeks  later  he  wrote  :  "  I  have  just  read 
your  article  on  Mrs.  Prentice.  She  is  credited  with 
higher  accomplishments  than  I  thought  she  pos- 
sessed. Her  father  was  a  very  able  advocate.  I  saw 
Mrs.  Prentice  a  very  short  time  after  her  marriage, 
and  I  thought  her  very  beautiful." 

"I  am  flattered,"  he  wrote  me,  still  later  ''with 
your  opinion  of  my  brief  article  on  Jackson'f  Battle 
Ground.  I  have  a  very  interesting  letter  from  Dr. 
Usher  Parsons,  Perry's  surgeon,  eighty  years  old, 
thanking  me  for  some  military  sketches  I  cent  him  at 
Providence,  R.  I.  I  will  bring  it  with  me  when  I 
come  to  Louisville." 


BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD.        139 

In  speaking  of  actors  and  acting,  Colonel  Todd  said  : 
"I  do  not  go  to  the  theatre;  but  I  take  a  great  interest 
in  the  drama,  and  often  find  myself  reading  even  the 
gossip  about  the  players,  that  have  been  well  called 
the  '  abstract  and  brief  chroniclers  of  the  time.' " 
In  a  postscript  to  this  letter  he  added  :  "  Do  not  think 
I  have  written  the  above  for  an  excuse  to  praise  your 
article  on  Booth's  lago,  which,  by  the  way,  is  the  best 
thing  I  have  seen  from  your  pen  ;  but,  to  tell  you 
candidly,  I  have  always  taken  an  interest  in  such 
things." 

Of  Dr.  T.  S.  Bell  he  said :  "  I  have  always,  though 
personally  unknown  to  Dr.  Bell,  cherished  the  most 
exalted  estimate  of  his  character." 

The  following  letter  I  print  entire,  as  it  shows  the 
pains  Colonel  Todd  took  in  preparing  his  essay  on  the 
Battle  of  the  Thames,  to  which  I  have  before  referred  : 

"  OWENSBOROUGH,  6th  December,  '67. 

"  Accept  my  thanks  for  your  kind  letter  of  the  4th  instant ; 
and  while  I  am  greatly  flattered  by  your  opinion  of  the 
second  number  of  the  Battle  of  the  Thames,  I  had  hoped 
the  first  number  was  acceptable, —  please  to  excuse  my  jeal- 
ousy. The  third  number  is  postponed  until  next  week,  by 
a  part  of  the  manuscript  being  misplaced  in  the  office.  It 
consists  chiefly  of  an  extract  of  General  Harrison's  official 
letter  as  to  the  conduct  of  his  officers  and  men ;  a  criticism 
by  Major  Wood  ;  Mr.  Madison's  report  to  Congress,  and 
their  vote  of  thanks,  and  medals,  &c.,  with  a  neat  com- 
mentary by  Ritchie,  of  the  Richmond  Enquirer.  I  hope  it 
may  meet  your  expectations,  and  that,  as  aiuhole,\hQ  article 
will  command  the  attention  of  the  descendants  of  the  dis- 
interested patriots  on  that  great  occasion. 

"  I  have  taken  occasion  to  dwell  on  the  merits  of  Major 
Wood,  who  was  breveted  lieutenant -colonel  for  gallantry 


140       BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

in  the  Battle  of  Lundy's  Lane,  25th  July,  1814;  and  General 
Brown  did  himself  great  honor  in  reporting  to  the  Gov- 
ernment that  he  owed  the  safety  of  his  army  to  Colonels 
McKee  and  Wood  more  than  to  any  other  officers  in  his 
army.  My  notice  of  his  heroic  career  is  but  a  feeble  ex- 
pression of  my  gratitude  to  him  for  once  saving  my  life." 

In  September,  1864,  Colonel  Todd  was  invited  to 
deliver  the  Annual  Address  before  the  Perry  Monu- 
ment Association,  composed  of  the  surviving  soldiers 
of  the  war  of  1812,  at  Put-in-Bay  Island,  on  the  vic- 
tory of  Lake  Erie,  September,  1813.  This  address 
was  the  best  public  speech  he  ever  made.  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  concluding  paragraph. 

"  And  now,  venerated  friends,  let  us  rejoice  that  we  have 
been  permitted  once  more  to  celebrate  the  most  memorable 
event  in  the  heroic  period  of  the  country,  the  second  war 
of  Independence,  which  aided  essentially  in  making  us  a 
commanding  power  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  It 
developed  our  resources  in  agriculture,  in  internal  commu- 
nication, in  minerals  (especially  of  iron  and  coal  so  neces- 
sary to  a  manufacturing  people),  in  a  commerce  whitening 
every  sea.  The  generations  which  have  grown  up  since 
that  war  should  know  that  the  war  of  the  Revolution  led 
to  separation  from  the  mother  country,  while  the  war  of 
1812  was  a  war  for  our  nationality.  Dr.  Franklin  said  that 
the  war  of  the  colonies  was  a  revolution,  but  the  war  of 
real  independence  was  yet  to  come.  The  prophecy  of  the 
great  philosopher  and  statesman  was  fulfilled  in  our  suc- 
cessful struggle  in  1812-15." 

About  the  time  Colonel  Todd  delivered  this  ad- 
dress, he  wrote  me :  "  I  have  received  the  enclosed 
beautiful  letter  from  my  friend,  Mr.  Yeaman,  the 
minister  to  Denmark.  In  it  you  will  see  how  Bis- 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        141 

marck  speaks  of  his  old  schoolmate.  Give  my  regards 
to  our  excellent  friend,  Dr.  Bell,  by  whom  I  shall  stand 
in  every  emergency.  I  have  read  his  reply  to  Gail- 
lard.  It  is  a  masterpiece  of  criticism." 

In  October,  1869,  he  wrote  :  "  I  wish  that  you  would 
write  something  about  the  Hon.  J.  Scott  Harrison. 
He  is  the  only  surviving  son  of  General  Harrison, 
and  he  ought  to  have  charge  and  possession  of  the 
grounds  and  remains  for  a  monument.  I  am  anxious 
to  hear  from  Mr.  Motley." 

The  warmest  feelings  of  personal  friendship  existed 
between  Colonel  Todd  and  the  Hon.  J.  Scott  Harrison. 
Colonel  Todd  never  heard  Mr.  Harrison's  name 
mentioned  without  saying  something  in  his  praise. 
The  subjoined  extract  from  a  letter  written  to  Col- 
onel Todd  shows  how  Mr.  Harrison  reciprocated  the 
friendly  feeling : 

"  COLONEL  C.  S.  TODD. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR:  —  Your  criticisms  on  the  Northwestern 
campaign  of  the  war  of  1812  are  in  generous  accord  with 
that  zealous  devotion  so  often  manifested  before  in  the  de- 
fence of  my  father's  military  reputation,  and  for  which  the 
surviving  members  have  ever  felt  the  deepest  gratitude.  It 
has  always  been  a  sense  of  great  regret  to  me  that  my 
father  did  not  live  long  enough  after  his  official  exaltation 
to  manifest  to  the  nation  and  the  world  —  in  a  more 
emphatic  way  than  he  ever  before  had  opportunity  —  his 
high  appreciation  of  the  gallantry  and  services  of  those 
noble  officers  and  men  who  served  with  him  in  his  arduous 
campaign  ;  and  whose  valuable  services  have  never  yet 
been  fully  appreciated,  either  by  Congress  or  the  American 
people.  I  need  not  say,  my  dear  sir,  that  (in  my  father's 
estimation)  you  stood  pre-eminently  distinguished  among 
these  devoted  heroes.  J.  SCOTT  HARRISON." 


142       BIOGRAPHY    OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

When  Colonel  Todd's  name  was  brought  before 
the  President  as  a  suitable  person  to  represent  the 
country  abroad,  Mr.  Harrison  wrote : 

"  I  cannot  close  this  communication  without  expressing 
to  you  the  deep  anxiety  our  family  feel  for  the  successful 
termination  of  Colonel  Todd's  application.  My  mother, 
particularly,  would  feel  great  pleasure  in  seeing  this  true 
and  devoted  friend  of  her  lamented  husband  placed  in  a 
situation  that  would  relieve  him  from  embarrassment,  and 
feel  that  he  had  not  been  neglected  by  that  country  he 
served  so  early  and  so  faithfully.  You  may  be  assured  that 
Colonel  Todd  has  a  strong  hold  on  the  affections  of  the 
people  of  the  West ;  they  know  him  as  the  youthful  but 
gallant  soldier  of  the  last  war,  as  well  as  the  confidential 
friend  and  supporter  of  their  General  in  the  conflict  which 
has  just  ended  ;  which  contest,  though  less  bloody,  was 
equally  as  vindictive  and  prescriptive  toward  their  favorite 
chief.  I  hope  you  will  pardon  this  liberty.  I  was  embold- 
ened by  your  friendly  request  to  communicate  my  wishes 
freely. 

"  With  my  best  wishes  for  your  successful  administration 
of  the  Government,  I  remain,  with  sentiments  of  high  re- 
spect and  friendly  consideration, 

J.  SCOTT  HARRISON." 


BIOGRAPHY   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.       143 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Letter  from  the  Hon.  William  C.  Rives  to  Colonel  Todd  —  Colonel  Todd 
prepares  Several  Articles  for  Dr.  Sprague's  "  National  Portrait  Gallery  " — 
Dr.  Sprague's  Acknowledgments  —  Governor  Shelby's  Pride  in  Colonel 
Todd  —  Colonel  Todd's  Last  Illness  —  His  Death. 

THE  HON.  WILLIAM  C.  RIVES,  of  Virginia, 
often  consulted  Colonel  Todd  upon  state  af- 
fairs. I  introduce  here  a  letter  from  Mr.  Rives, 
which  not  only  expresses  the  confidence  he  felt  in 
Colonel  Todd's  friendship,  but  in  his  judgment  and 
ability. 

"CASTLE  HILL,  1 8th  January,  1848. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR  :  —  It  gives  me  great  pleasure,  I  assure 
you,  to  hear  from  you,  as  renewing  the  impressions  of  an 
early  friendship,  which  I  have  been  most  happy  to  cherish 
through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  my  life. 

"  I  rejoice  with  you  in  the  great  event  which  has  de- 
livered us  from  the  reign  of  folly  and  madness  in  our  public 
councils,  and  opens  to  the  country  a  new  future  bright  with 
hope  and  the  promise  of  a  noble  destiny.  I  have  not  the 
satisfaction,  as  you  doubtless  have,  of  a  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  the  illustrious  character  whom  the  nation  has 
called  to  its  head ;  but  I  have  formed  the  highest  opinion 
of  his  wisdom,  moderation,  and  patriotism ;  and  I  look 
with  entire  confidence  to  his  administration  to  restore  the 
earlier  and  better  days  of  the  Republic. 

"  I  am  very  sensible,  my  dear  sir,  of  your  partiality  and 
kindness  in  wishing  to  see  me  again  called  into  the  public 
service.  I  have  long  considered  this  a  matter  of  so  much 
uncertainty  that  I  have  formed  no  particular  wishes  on  the 
subject,  but  readily  conform  to  whatever  the  course  of 
events  brings  along  with  it,  as  marking  both  the  path  of 
duty  and  inclination  for  me. 


144      BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL    CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

"  Wishing  you  every  prosperity  both  in  private  and 
public  life,  and  assuring  you  of  the  pleasure  it  will  give 
me  at  all  times  to  hear  from  you, 

"  I  remain,  very  truly  and  faithfully,  your  friend, 

"  CHAS.  S.  TODD,  ESQ.  W.  C.  RIVES." 

In  October,  of  the  same  year  of  the  date  of  the 
above  letter,  Colonel  Todd  prepared  several  articles 
for  Dr.  W.  B.  Sprague's  great  work,  entitled  "  The 
National  Portrait  Gallery."  One  of  these  articles 
consists  of  a  carefully  written  biographical  essay  on 
Governor  Isaac  Shelby.  The  annexed  letter  from 
Dr.  Sprague  expresses  his  thanks  to  Colonel  Todd 
for  the  same,  and  for  the  interest  he  had  taken  in  the 
work : 

"  ALBANY,  October  igth,  1849. 

"Mv  DEAR  COLONEL:  —  Your  most  welcome  and  grati- 
fying communications  have  come  safely  to  hand,  and  I 
cannot  tell  you  how  much  I  feel  obliged  for  them.  Be- 
sides containing  beautiful  and,  I  doubt  not,  faithful  sketches 
of  your  two  distinguished  friends,  they  secure  to  my  work 
the  influence  of  your  own  name,  and  to  me  the  gratifica- 
tion of  being  associated  with  you  i,n  what  to  me  is  a  very 
favorite  enterprise.  You  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  your 
friend,  ex-President  Tyler,  has  also  given  me  his  recollec- 
tions of  Bishop  Madison,  in  a  very  neat  and  highly  graphic 
communication.  Many  thanks  for  the  Bishop's  letter.  .It 
was  a  precious  morsel  to  my  '  omnivorous '  appetite. 

"  My  family  join  me  in  kindest  regards  to  you,  and 
I  am,  my  dear  sir,  with  the  highest  regard,  faithfully  and 
gratefully  yours,  W.  B.  SPRAGUE." 

Governor  Shelby  was  very  proud  of  his  son-in- 
law,  Colonel  Todd,  and  did  not  fail  to  consult  him 
about  national  affairs  and  the  relations  of  private  life. 
I  have,  since  writing  the  above,  found  an  unpublished 


BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD.        145 

letter  from  Governor  Shelby  to  Colonel  Todd,  dated 
December  19,  1818.  It  is  expressive  of  the  wise 
judgment  and  sagacity  of  that  distinguished  military 
chieftain.  This  letter  was  written  at  Traveller's  Rest, 
the  beautiful  home  of  Governor  Shelby. 

"  The  Secretary  of  War  is  much  pleased  with  the  Chicka- 
saw  treaty ;  it  is  most  probable  you  will  soon  hear  of  its 
ratification  by  the  Senate.  The  Legislature  should  be 
prepared  to  act  upon  it  very  promptly  ;  this  is  certainly 
a  favorable  moment  to  settle  the  question  of  boundary 
between  the  two  States  whose  interests  seem  to  invite  a 
renewal  of  the  discussions  on  the  subject;  it  is  one  that 
has  been  long  at  issue,  and  for  fifty  years  back  engrossed 
the  minds  of  the  wisest  men  on  the  Western  waters.  If  it 
is  renewed,  in  terms  of  delicacy  and  conciliation,  I  have  no 
doubt  it  may  be  settled,  although  it  is  a  question  on  which 
the  people  of  Tennessee  are  very  tenacious,  and  would  be 
easily  roused  to  desperation.  If  this  occasion  is  passed 
over,  it  may  not  be  settled  in  another  half-century  of  years. 
I  hope  the  Assembly  wilt  take  care  to  guard  the  lands 
west  of  the  Tennessee  river  from  all  unjust  claims  ;  it  is  the 
last  stake  we  have  to  accomplish  any  great  public  purpose. 
Those  lands,  if  rightly  appropriated,  would  clear  the  falls 
of  the  Ohio ;  or  cut  a  canal  around  them,  and  make  a  turn- 
pike way  from  the  gap  of  Cumberland  mountain  to  Louis- 
ville. If  this  Assembly  suffers  that  fund  to  slip  through 
their  hands,  they  should  be  execrated  forever  and  forever." 

A  short  memoir  of  Governor  Shelby  will  be  found 
in  the  Appendix  to  this  volume. 

In  the  last  letter  Colonel  Todd  wrote  me,  he  said  : 
"  I  regret  that  you  have  incurred  the  ill-will  of 

W and  R .  The  truth  is,  they  look  upon 

you  as  a  rising  man,  and  want  to  put  you  down. 
You  must  not  be  intimidated.  Their  unkind  feelings 
proceed  from  something  out  of  joint  in  themselves. 
19 


146       BIOGRAPHY   OF    COLONEL   CHARLES    S.  TODD. 

You  could  not  have  given  them  any  just  cause  for 
such  treatment.  Jealousy  is  at  the  bottom  of  it.  If 
I  am  spared  long  enough,  I  shall  help  you  make 
them  regret  their  course." 

I  wrote  to  my  dear  old  friend  several  times  after 
the  receipt  of  the  above,  but  no  answer  came  to 
me.  I  began  to  fear  that  he  was  ill.  I  thought  of  his 
advanced  age,  and  felt  that  I  should  never  see  him 
again  in  this  world.  I  knew  that  he  expected  soon 
to  come  to  Louisville,  and  was  cheered  with  the  hope 
that  he  did  not  write  because  he  expected  so  soon  to 
be  with  me.  He  left  New  Orleans  for  a  visit  to  his 
grand  -  daughter's  at  Baton  Rouge.  The  weather 
was  so  pleasant  that  he  would  not  listen  to  the  advice 
of  one  of  his  children  to  put  on  his  great-coat,  and 
the  result  was  that  he  took  a  severe  cold,  which  was 
followed  by  a  severe  attack  of  pneumonia,  from  which 
he  never  recovered. 

A  few  days  before  his  death  he  called  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Letitia  Carter,  wife  of  Dr.  John  Carter,  of  New 
Orleans,  La.,  to  his  bed-side,  and  asked  her  to  find 
the  psalm  which  says,  "  Thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they 
comfort  me."  She  turned  to  the  chapter  containing 
it,  and  asked  him  if  she  should  read  it,  when  he  said 
that  he  wished  it  for  a  reference  only.  On  the 
Tuesday  before  he  died,  he  said  to  his  physician : 
"  I  trust,  Doctor,  that  I  shall  go  quietly ;  "  and  then, 
addressing  Mrs.  Carter,  said,  "  Let  me,  my  precious 
child,  feel  the  pressure  of  your  hand  when  my  spirit 
is  about  to  take  its  flight."  It  was  then  ten  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  He  continued  to  grow  worse,  and, 
while  struggling  to  utter  some  loving  word  to  those 
around  him,  his  noble  spirit  took  its  flight  to  its 
home  beyond  the  skies. 


APPENDIX. 

Correspondence  of  Colonel  Todd  with  the  Colombian  General  Santander  — 
Memoir  of  Governor  Shelby. 

BOGOTA,  June  ist,  1823. 

THE  Undersigned,  Colonel  C.  S.  Todd,  presents  his 
^most  respectful  compliments  to  his  Excellency,  Gen- 
eral Santander,  and  begs  leave,  informally  and  unofficially, 
as  a  citizen  of  the  first  Republic  of  the  North,  animated  by 
the  most  anxious  solicitude,  to  omit  no  occasion  of  pro- 
moting a  frank  and  cordial  intercourse  between  Colombia 
and  the  United  States ;  and,  to  avoid  every  measure  cal- 
culated in  the  slightest  degree  to  interrupt  the  most  perfect 
harmony  between  them,  to  submit  to  a  distinguished  citizen 
of  the  first  Republic  of  the  South  the  following  statement 
and  correspondence,  in  the  firm  persuasion  that  he  ad- 
dresses himself  to  an  individual  whose  character  may  be 
found  in  the  great  qualities  of  valor  in  the  field,  uniform  and 
patriotic  devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  his  country,  a 
display  of  practical  wisdom  in  the  civil  administration,  and 
who,  loving  "  Colombia  first  and  Colombia  last,"  has  been 
signalized  by  the  maintenance  of  feelings  of  justice  and 
impartiality  towards  all  nations. 

The  enclosed  document,  No.  I,  consists  of  a  translation 
of  the  Commission  granted  to  the  Undersigned  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  on  the  2Oth  April,  1820, 
of  the  correspondence,  which,  by  virtue  of  that  instrument 
and  his  instructions,  he  had  the  honor  of  instituting  with 
the  authorities  of  Colombia,  from  the  2d  August,  1820,  to 
the  I5th  February,  1821,  and  of  sundry  extracts.  These 
papers  are  communicated  now  in  consequence  of  the 
Undersigned  having  lately  received  information  from  a 


1 48  APPENDIX. 

most  respectable  source  that  they  were  not  made  known 
to  the  Congress  at  Cucata,  and  therefore  they  may  possibly 
be  still  unknown  to  his  Excellency  General  Santander. 

The  Undersigned  has  been  further  informed,  on  the  same 
authority,  of  the  great  probability  that  the  discrimination 
in  the  law  of  the  25th  September,  1821,  unfavorable  to  the 
commerce  of  the  United  States,  would  not  have  been 
adopted,  if  the  views,  acts,  and  feelings  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  conveyed  in  these  documents  had 
been  communicated  to  that  Congress.  The  Undersigned 
positively  states,  that  his  letter  of  the  2d  August,  1820,  was 
received  by  the  Government  of  Augostura  in  the  following 
September;  and  that  his  letter  of  the  25th  February,  1821, 
with  its  enclosures,  was  delivered  prior  to  the  3d  of  May, 
and  thereafter  to  General  Narino,  then  at  Cucata,  and  Presi- 
dent of  Colombia.  He  is  greatly  concerned  to  be  obliged, 
from  a  sense  of  duty  to  the  United  States,  to  state  his  belief 
that  the  existence  of  the  mission  with  which  he  was  intrusted 
by  his  Government,  and  of  this  letter  of  the  I5th  February, 
1821,  was  known  to  the  present  Secretary  of  State  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  who  was  a  member  of  that  Congress,  and 
one  of  the  projectors  and  supporters  of  the  particular  article 
in  the  law  of  the  25th  September,  not  less  prejudicial  to  the 
real  interests  of  Colombia  than  those  of  the  United  States. 
If,  as  is  positively  asserted  to  have  been  the  case,  papers 
transmitting  intelligence  of  events  and  circumstances  so 
interesting  to  the  Congress  and  people  of  Colombia,  were 
withheld  by  the  Executive  and  the  particular  department 
charged  with  foreign  affairs,  at  a  period  when  the  false 
representations  were  industriously  circulated  to  the  injury 
of  the  United  States  concerning  their  acts  and  feelings, 
and  whilst  a  law  was  enacted  imposing  a  discrimination 
unfavorable  to  their  commerce,  His  Excellency  General 
Santander  cannot  be  surprised  that  the  Undersigned  should 
suspect  him  to  be  still  unadvised  of  the  proceedings  as  well 
as  of  the  precise  import  of  other  transactions  to  which  the 
Undersigned  will  have  occasion  presently  to  refer. 


APPENDIX.  1 49 

It  is  respectfully  submitted  to  the  enlightened  judgment 
and  honorable  views  of  his  Excellency  General  Santander, 
to  say  what  would  be  the  impression  produced  on  his 
mind,  if,  under  such  circumstances,  the  Congress  of  any 
foreign  nation  were  to  proceed  from  unfriendly  opinions 
to  hostile  legislative  acts  towards  Colombia  —  at  a  precise 
period  when  the  Executive,  or  one  of  its  subordinate 
officers,  withheld  from  their  knowledge  official  documents 
that  would  have  removed  these  unfavorable  feelings  and 
consequently  the  law  founded  on  them.  In  this  case,  an 
impression  generally  prevailed  among  the  members  of  the 
Congress  at  Cucata,  that,  in  the  late  treaty  acquiring  posses- 
sion of  the  Floridas,  the  United  States  agreed  not  to  recognize 
the  independence  of  any  of  the  new  governments  in  South 
America;  whilst  an  examination  of  the  letter  of  the  Under- 
signed with  its  enclosures,  dated  on  the  2d  August,  1820, 
would  have  shown  what  had  been  previously  published  to 
the  world,  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  so  far 
from  acceding  to  so  odious  a  stipulation,  considered  it  im- 
possible to  discuss  a  proposition  so  incompatible  with  their 
honor  and  independence. 

Deeply  as  the  Undersigned  regretted,  at  the  time,  the 
necessity  which  the  alarming  state  of  his  health  imposed 
on  him  of  returning  to  the  United  States  in  February,  1821, 
the  knowledge  lately  acquired  of  the  extraordinary  direc- 
tion given  to  his  correspondence,  and  the  numerous  bane- 
ful impressions  which  were  then  falsely  and  maliciously 
suggested  and  permitted  respecting  the  acts  and  feelings 
of  a  sister  republic,  induce  him  now  to  lament,  that  his 
absence  afforded  an  opportunity  for  the  enemies  of  both 
republics  to  infuse  these  prejudices  into  the  minds  of  the 
members  of  that  Congress ;  and  if,  in  the  course  of  his 
present  mission,  he  shall  be  enabled,  by  removing  the 
effects  of  misrepresentation,  to  place  the  relations  of  the 
two  countries  where  they  should  be,  on  a  footing  of  the 
most  intimate  and  unreserved  cordiality,  he  shall  regard 
the  effort  with  the  proudest  recollection. 


1 5O  APPENDIX. 

The  Undersigned  regrets  that  any  combination  of  cir- 
cumstances should  impose  on  him  the  painful  necessity  of 
appearing  to  give  explanations  with  regard  to  the  acts  and 
views  of  his  Government,  whose  attitude  towards  this  coun- 
try is  so  pure  and  magnanimous ;  but  the  sincere  desire  he 
cherishes  for  the  preservation  of  perpetual  harmony  between 
the  two  republics  requires  of  him  to  contribute  his  efforts 
toward  removing  the  seeds  of  future  collisions  between 
them.  The  conduct  of  the  United  States  has  been  open 
to  the  World,  and  cannot  be  misunderstood  but  through 
the  machinations  of  those  whose  passions  and  interests  may 
lead  them  to  misrepresent  it.  With  regard  to  the  strug- 
gle for  independence  in  the  South,  their  course  has  been 
that  of  deep  sympathy  in  favor  of  their  oppressed  brethren  ; 
and,  although  they  have  not  participated  directly  in  the 
war,  their  system  of  neutrality  has  entirely  satisfied  the 
wishes  of  the  true  friends  of  both  countries.  The  mis- 
representations of  this  conduct,  which  have  been  circulated 
for  several  years  in  Colombia,  chiefly  from  the  want  of 
correct  information,  will  be  a  sufficient  apology  for  the 
Undersigned  in  claiming  the  attention  of  his  Excellency 
General  Santander;  whilst  he  briefly  reviews  the  several 
acts  and  declarations  of  his  government  in  relation  to  the 
interesting  struggle  in  South  America.  He  has  the  honor 
of  referring  to  an  extract  of  the  Message  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States  in  December,  1811,  and  the  report  of 
the  committee  of  that  Congress,  translations  of  which  are 
herewith  enclosed,  containing  a  beautiful  and  enlightened 
allusion  to  the  interest  the  Government  and  people  of  the 
United  States  should  feel  in  the  welfare  of  their  Southern 
brethren.  During  that  session  a  very  generous  and  timely 
supply  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  in  provisions,  was 
voted  to  relieve  the  distresses  of  the  people  of  Venezuela, 
occasioned  by  the  earthquakes  of  March,  1812,  —  a  supply 
denied  them  by^  the  authorities  of  the  adjacent  islands. 
The  war,  which  the  rights  and  honor  of  the  United  States 
compelled  that  Congress  to  declare  against  the  same  Power 


APPENDIX.  I  5  i 

whose  cruelties  and  oppressions  led  to  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, and  made  them  free  and  independent  States,  neces- 
sarily engaged  the  exclusive  attention  of  the  Government 
and  people  of  the  United  States  ;  and  it  was  not,  therefore,  to 
be  expected  that,  in  the  midst  of  its  difficulties,  any  particular 
notice  could  be  taken  of  the  progress  of  the  South  American 
contest.  It  may  be,  perhaps,  deemed  unnecessary  here  to 
remind  his  Excellency  General  Santander  of  the  distin- 
guished reputation  acquired  by  the  United  States  in  that 
portentous  struggle  for  the  preservation  of  their  liberties ; 
but  the  Undersigned  cannot  resist  the  suggestions  of  a  just 
pride  in  stating,  that  every  portion  of  the  civilized  world 
has  resounded  with  the  imposing  and  animating  facts  that 
a  handful  of  Republicans,  after  a  peace  of  thirty  years,  tri- 
umphed in  a  war  of  less  than  three  years  over  the  veteran 
forces  of  an  empire  which  claimed  dominion  in  every 
quarter  of  the  globe ;  that,  though  Great  Britain  had  all 
the  influence  of  the  moral  power  of  the  States,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  France,  composing  the  present  "  Holy  Alliance," 
aided  by  that  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  the  United  States  came 
out  of  the  contest  with  their  rights  asserted,  their  national 
resources  developed,  and  their  national  character  exalted; 
that  the  sacrifices  encountered  and  the  energies  success- 
fully displayed  promise  them  a  long  harvest  of  peace — the 
natural  state  and  essential  policy  of  all  republics ;  that,  in 
the  course  of  this  momentous  struggle,  that  gallant  navy, 
which  had  been  contemptuously  styled  "  a  few  fir-built 
frigates  with  a  piece  of  striped  bunting  at  the  masthead," 
by  its  daring  chivalric  deeds,  with  inferior  force,  repeatedly  • 
humbled  the  pride  of  the  leviathan  of  the  deep,  who,  after  a 
thousand  victories  over  the  fleets  of  Europe,  had  arrogantly 
assumed  to  be  "mistress  of  the  seas;"  that  this  same 
valorous  spirit  led  to  the  capture  with  inferior  force  of 
whole  squadrons  on  the  inland  seas  which  skirt  our  fron- 
tiers ;  that  our  armies,  as  if  inspired  with  the  energy  and 
sublimity  of  the  mighty  cataract  in  their  vicinity,  had  routed 
British  veteran  troops  in  open  combat  at  the  point  of  the 


152  APPENDIX. 

bayonet ;  and  that,  finally,  on  the  plains  of  New  Orleans,  a 
few  undisciplined  freemen,  with  the  impetuosity  of  the 
floods  of  their  own  Mississippi,  proudly  repelled  the  bar- 
barian invasion  of  the  "  conquerors  of  the  conquerors  of 
Europe."  It  is  these  moral  energies  of  a  free  people  in  a 
just  cause  which  the  tyrants  of  Europe  so  much  dread,  and 
the  display  of  which  gives  us,  for  the  present,  the  blessings 
of  peace. 

The  Undersigned  begs  leave  to  refer  to  the  enclosed 
translations  of  extracts  of  the  messages  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States  to  Congress  on  the  opening  of  the 
sessions,  in  December,  1817,  1818,  1819,  and  1820,  and  to 
state  that,  while  the  Executive  Department  was  evincing 
its  lively  interest  in  the  course  of  events  in  South  America 
by  these  public  declarations,  and  the  appointment  of  the 
Undersigned  on  the  2Oth  April,  1820,  to  maintain  informally 
commercial  and  political  relations  with  the  Government  of 
Colombia,  the  popular  branch  of  the  Legislative  Depart- 
ment solemnly  avowed,  in  1820  and  in  1821,  its  wishes  in 
behalf  of  their  struggling  brethren,  and  its  readiness  to 
unite  with  the  Executive  in  instituting  with  the  new  gov- 
ernments in  South  America  all  the  relations  incident  to 
free  and  independent  States.  It  is  thus  seen,  that,  long 
before  1822,  the  applications  of  the  Government  of  Colom- 
bia, to  be  practically  recognized  by  the  United  States,  had 
been  acceded  to  by  the  adoption  of  the  public  acts  and 
declarations  just  referred  to  ;  and  the  records  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  will  show,  also,  that  the  flag  of 
Buenos  Ayres  and  Carthagena  was  regarded  as  legal,  as 
early  as  1815,  in  consequence  of  the  declarations  made  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States  that  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  viewed  the  contest  not  as  a  rebellion  or 
insurrection,  but  as  a  civil  war  entitling  each  party  to  equal 
rights  in  their  ports.  And  here  the  Undersigned  would 
beg  leave  most  respectfully  to  inquire  whether,  until  the 
last  year,  the  head  or  supreme  authorities  of  any  other 
nation  have  considered  the  Government  of  Colombia  to  be 


APPENDIX.  153 

of  such  importance  as  to  induce  them,  by  their  public  acts 
and  declarations,  to  proclaim  to  the  world  the  existence  of 
a  struggle  for  liberty  on  this  continent  ?  So  far  from  adopt- 
ing a  course  so  magnanimous  and  so  animating  to  the 
"  moral  march  of  its  affairs,"  if  it  has  even  been  noticed, 
it  has  been  merely  to  refer  to  their  wishes  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  authority  of  Spain  over  her  rebellious  and 
insurgent  subjects ;  nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  the  formal 
recognition  by  the  United  States  of  the  Government  of 
Colombia,  in  April,  1822,  had  a  powerful  influence  in  causing 
its  flag  to  be  subsequently  acknowledged  in  the  ports  of 
France,  Great  Britain,  Sweden,  Denmark,  Holland,  and 
Portugal. 

In  illustration  of  the  acts  and  views  of  the  United  States 
in  1818  and  1819,  the  Undersigned  encloses,  also,  extracts 
of  the  instructions  to  Commodore  Perry,  dated  in  May, 
1819,  and  made  part  of  his  instructions;  and,  as  an  evi- 
dence of  his  frank  and  confiding  disposition  in  the  kind 
feelings  of  his  Excellency  General  Santander,  he  com- 
municates an  extract  of  a  confidential  conversation  with 
the  President  of  the  United  States  after  the  return  of  the^ 
Undersigned  to  the  United  States  in  1821. 

The  Undersigned,  having  no  information  of  an  official 
translator  being  employed  in  this  capital,  and  to  avoid 
the  consequences  which  might  flow  from  possible  miscon- 
ceptions of  his  acts  and  correspondence,  has  the  honor  of 
submitting  (in  document  No.  2)  a  translation  of  all  the  com- 
munications he  has  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  since  his  arrival  in  this  city,  on  the  several  subjects 
noticed  in  his  instructions  and  in  the  enclosed  letter  from 
the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States.  In  the  note 
of  the  Undersigned  on  the  28th  May  last,  his  Excellency 
General  Santander  will  find  a  review  of  the  ineffectual 
efforts  made  by  him  to  procure  an  adjustment  of  those, 
cases  of  claims  acknowledged  to  be  due  or  not  contro- 
verted. The  omission  of  the  Secretary,  even  to  notice  these 
applications,  renders  it  improper,  under  existing  circum- 


154  APPENDIX. 

stances,  for  the  Undersigned  to  renew  the  subject  to  this 
government  through  that  channel.  A  sense  of  self-respect, 
as  well  as  of  the  regard  due  to  the  dignity  of  the  United 
States,  will  not  permit  him  to  adopt  a  measure  of  such  con- 
descension. 

In  addressing  himself  thus  informally  and  unofficially, 
though  in  direct  terms,  to  his  Excellency  General  Santander, 
the  Undersigned  is  persuaded  that  he  appeals  to  a  common 
friend  of  North  and  South  America,  who  will  unite  with 
him  in  removing  those  impressions  which,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  evil  persons  equally  hostile  to  the  best  interests  of 
both  republics,  might  eventually  ripen  into  jealousies,  and 
disturb  the  harmony  which  a  thousand  interesting  con- 
siderations, at  this  period,  make  it  the  duty  of  both  gov- 
ernments to  preserve.  The  Undersigned,  in  requesting  his 
Excellency  General  Santander  to  interpose  his  influence  in 
relieving  him  from  the  painful  dilemma  to  which  the  most 
extraordinary  and  unjustifiable  views  have  reduced  his 
official  relations  with  this  Government,  might  appeal  to 
the  kindred  blood,  which  has  flowed  in  this  cause,  in  the 
sacrifice  of  Macauley,  Donohue,  and  a  hundred  other  gal- 
lant Americans  ;  to  the  enterprising  efforts  of  American 
merchants  at  the  most  critical  periods  of  the  Revolution, 
among  which  cases  incidentally  known  to  the  Undersigned, 
as  constituting  still  unsatisfied  claims  for  upwards  of  six  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  may  be  estimated  the  fortunate  sup- 
plies lately  furnished  at  Carthagena,  at  La  Guira,  in  the  ac- 
quisition of  the  ship  "Bolivar,"  proudly  regarded  as  a  terror 
to  her  enemies,  and  more  especially  to  the  timely  supply 
made  to  General  Bolivar,  at  Augostura,  in  1819,  when,  it  is 
believed,  he  had  not  more  than  twenty-five  muskets,  with 
which  supply  he  restored  this  capital  and  New  Granada  to 
the  Republic,  and  covered  himself  and  all  concerned,  par- 
ticularly his  Excellency  General  Santander,  with  immortal 
glory  in  the  memorable  battle  of  Boyaca.  But  the  Under- 
signed appeals  to  still  higher  motives.  He  appeals  to  the 
common  principles  on  which  the  two  Republics  have  been 


APPENDIX.  I  5  5 

erected  on  the  same  continent  after  a  similar  struggle  to 
maintain  their  sacred  rights;  to  the  common  interests 
which,  as  neighbors,  unite  them  in  the  bonds  of  reciprocal 
commerce,  and  more  especially  to  the  political  motives 
which  make  it  the  imperious  duty  of  all  the  governments 
on  continental  America  to  cultivate  the  best  understanding, 
that  they  may  be  prepared  to  counteract  the  designs  of 
that  foul  confederacy  of  kings  in  Europe,  created  for  the 
purpose  of  sacrificing  the  rights  of  the  many  to  the  aggran- 
dizement of  the  few;  which,  prostrating  in  its  march  of 
desolation  every  vestige  of  civilization  and  of  human  rights 
in  the  Old  World,  may  seek  in  the  New  to  crush  those 
generous  displays  which  have  signalized  the  people  of  the 
South  in  their  imitation  of  the  "  first  successful  effort  of 
democratic  rebellion  "  in  the  North. 

In  presenting  himself  thus  frankly  and  fully  to  his 
Excellency  General  Santander,  the  Undersigned  indulges 
in  the  pleasing  hope  that  he  affords  conclusive  evidence 
•of  his  deep  solicitude  for  the  prosperity  of  both  republics  — 
a  solicitude,  which,  in  the  midst  of  domestic  sacrifices  and 
exposures  of  health,  can  never  be  remunerated,  has  induced 
him  to  persevere,  for  the  last  years,  in  the  most  faithful 
efforts  to  bring  the  two  Governments  into  a  just  apprecia- 
tion of  their  mutual  friendship  and  interests. 

The  Undersigned  avails  himself  of  the  occasion  to  tender 
assurances  of  the  high  respect  with  which  he  has  the  honor 
to  be  his  Excellency's 

Very  obedient  servant,  C.  S.  TODD. 

His  EXCELLENCY  GENERAL  SANTANDER. 

June  14,  1823. 

Whilst  translations  of  the  preceding  statement  and  docu- 
ments were  preparing,  the  Undersigned  received,  on  the 
5th  instant,  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs 
in  relation  to  the  claims  noticed  in  his  notes  of  the  I2th 
and  28th  May.  This  reply  would  seem,  on  first  impression, 
to  obviate  the  necessity,  in  part,  of  resorting  to  the  measure 


156  APPENDIX. 

deemed  indispensable  to  a  right  understanding  of  all  the 
circumstances  connected  with  an  harmonious  intercourse 
between  the  two  countries.  But  without  adverting  to  the 
possibility  that  the  conversation  between  the  Undersigned 
and  his  distinguished  informants  already  referred  to  may 
have  hastened  the  receipt  of  this  reply  by  the  Secretary  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  the  Undersigned,  on  mature  consideration, 
has  concluded  to  persevere  in  his  original  purpose  of  pre- 
senting to  his  Excellency  General  Santander  the  statement 
and  documents  in  the  precise  shape  in  which  they  were 
prepared,  persuaded,  as  he  is,  that  his  Excellency  General 
Santander  will  concur,  in  the  hope  and  belief  that  full,  free, 
and  frank  explanations  cannot  fail  to  have  the  happy 
tendency  of  removing  radically  all  sources  of  future  mis- 
understanding, and  of  laying  the  foundation  of  the  most 
unreserved  cordiality  in  the  future  intercourse  between  the 
two  republics.  To  effectuate  such  a  high  and  permanent 
object,  the  Undersigned  disregards  all  personal  considera- 
tions in  the  firm  conviction  that  he  will  be  sustained  in 
his  course  by  the  enlightened  and  liberal  feelings  of  both 
Governments ;  and  this  entire  exposition  is  made,  now, 
with  the  view  of  advising  his  Excellency  General  Santander 
of  the  crisis  to  which  these  circumstances  were  rapidly  pre- 
cipitating the  official  relations  between  the  two  countries ; 
it  will  thus  stand  as  a  beacon  to  warn  the  agents  of  both 
Governments  against  the  baneful  consequences  likely  to 
flow  from  a  similar  controversy.  In  this  gratifying  hope, 
and  that  this  statement  may  be  reviewed  in  the  same  spirit 
of  liberal  friendship  in  which  it  is  transmitted,  the  Under- 
signed dismisses  the  subject  by  forwarding  a  translation  of 
his  reply  of  this  date  to  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
and  repeating  the  assurance  of  his  distinguished  considera- 
tion. C.  S.  TODD. 


MEMOIR  OF  GOVERNOR  SHELBY. 

ISAAC  SHELBY,  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  born 
on  the  nth  day  of  December,  1750,  near  to  the  North 
Mountain,  a  few  miles  from  Hagerstown,  in  Maryland, 
where  his  father  and  grandfather  settled  after  their  arrival 
in  America  from  Wales.  In  that  early  settlement  of  the 
country,  which  was  annoyed  during  the  period  of  his  youth 
by  Indian  wars,  he  obtained  only  the  elements  of  a  plain 
English  education  ;  but,  like  his  father  General  Evan  Shelby, 
born  with  a  strong  constitution,  capable  of  bearing  great 
privation  and  fatigue,  he  was  brought  up  to  the  use  of  arms 
and  the  pursuit  of  game. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  took  up  his  residence  in 
Western  Virginia,  beyond  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  having 
previously  acquired  a  knowledge  of  surveying  and  of  the 
duties  of  sheriff  at  Fredericktown.  He  was  engaged,  in 
his  new  residence,  in  the  business  of  feeding  and  attending 
to  herds  of  cattle  in  the  extensive  range  which  distin- 
guished that  section  of  country.  He  was  a  lieutenant  in 
the  company  of  his  father,  the  late  General  Evan  Shelby,  in 
the  memorable  battle  fought  loth  of  October,  1774,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Kenhawa,  at  the  close  of  which  his  father  was 
the  commanding  officer,  Colonels  Lewis,  Fleming,  and 
Field  having  been  killed  or  disabled.  The  result  of  this 
battle  gave  peace  to  the  frontier,  at  the  critical  period  of  the 
Colonies  venturing  into  the  eventful  contest  of  the  revolu- 
tion, and  deterred  the  Indians  from  uniting  with  the  British 
until  1776.  This  was,  probably,  the  most  severely  contested 
conflict  ever  maintained  with  the  Northwestern  Indians ; 
the  action  continued  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  and  the  ground, 
for  half  a  mile  along  the  bank  of  the  Ohio,  was  alternately 
occupied  by  each  of  the  parties  in  the  course  of  the  day.  So 
sanguinary  was  the  contest,  that  blood  was  found  on  each 


158  APPENDIX. 

side  of  the  trees  behind  which  the  parties  were  posted. 
The  Indians,  under  the  celebrated  chief  Cornstalk,  abandoned 
the  ground  under  cover  of  the  night.  Their  loss,  according 
to  the  official  report,  exceeded  that  of  the  Americans ;  the 
latter  amounting  to  sixty-three  killed  and  eighty  wounded. 
This  report  was  drawn  up  by  Captain  Russell,  reputed  to  be 
the  best  scholar  in  camp,  and  the  father  of  the  late  Colonel 
William  Russell,  of  Kentucky.  The  fortune  of  the  day,  as 
stated  in  Doddridge's  notes  of  "  Border  War,"  was  decided 
by  a  bold  movement  to  the  rear  of  the  left  wing  of  the 
Indians,  led  by  Captain  Evan  Shelby,  in  which  the  subject 
of  this  memoir  bore  a  conspicuous  part. 

The  garrison  at  Kenhawa  was  commanded  by  Captain 
Russell,  and  Lieutenant  Shelby  continued  in  it  until  the 
troops  were  disbanded  in  July,  1775,  by  order  of  Governor 
Dunmore,  who  was  apprehensive  that  the  post  might  be 
held  for  the  benefit  of  the  rebel  authorities.  He  proceeded 
immediately  to  Kentucky,  and  was  employed  as  a  surveyor 
under  Henderson  &  Co.,  who  styled  themselves  proprietors 
of  the  country,  and  who  had  established  a  regular  land- 
office  under  their  purchase  from  the  Cherokees.  He 
resided  in  the  then  wilderness  of  Kentucky  for  nearly 
twelve  months,  and,  being  without  bread  or  salt,  he  re- 
turned home. 

In  July,  1776,  during  his  absence  from  home,  he  was 
appointed  captain  of  a  minute  company  by  the  committee 
of  safety  of  Virginia.  In  the  year  of  1777  he  was  appointed 
by  Governor  Henry  a  commissary  of  supplies  for  an  ex- 
tensive body  of  militia,  posted  at  different  garrisons  to 
guard  the  frontier  settlements,  and  for  a  treaty  to  be  held 
at  the  Long  Island  of  Holston  river  with  the  Cherokee  tribe 
of  Indians.  These  supplies  could  not  have  been  obtained 
nearer  than  Staunton,  Va.,  a  distance  of  three  hundred 
miles ;  but  by  the  most  indefatigable  perseverance  (one  of 
the  most  conspicuous  traits  of  his  character)  he  accom- 
plished it  to  the  satisfaction  of  his  country. 

In  1778,  he  was  engaged  in  the  commissar}'  department, 


MEMOIR   OF    GOVERNOR    SHELLY.  159 

providing  supplies  for  the  Continental  army  and  for  an 
expedition,  by  the  way  of  Pittsburg,  against  the  Northwest- 
ern Indians.  In  the  early  part  of  1779,  he  was  appointed, 
by  Governor  Henry,  to  furnish  supplies  for  the  campaign 
against  the  Chicamauga  Indians,  which  he  effected  upon 
his  own  individual  credit.  In  the  spring  of  that  year  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  from  Washing- 
ton County ;  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  was  commissioned 
a  major,  by  Governor  Jefferson,  in  the  escort  of  guards  to 
the  commissioners  for  extending  the  boundary  line  between 
this  State  and  North  Carolina.  By  the  extension  of  that 
line  his  residence  was  found  to  be  within  the  limits  of  the 
latter'  State,  and  shortly  afterwards  he  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Caswell  a  colonel  of  the  new  county  of  Sullivan, 
established  in  consequence  of  the  additional  territory  ac- 
quired by  the  securing  of  that  line. 

In  the  summer  of  1780  Colonel  Shelby  was  in  Kentucky, 
locating  and  securing  those  lands  which  he  had  five  years 
previously  marked  out  and  improved  for  himself,  when  the 
intelligence  of  the  surrender  of  Charleston,  and  the  loss  of 
the  army,  reached  that  country.  He  returned  home  in  July 
of  that  year,  determined  to  enter  the  service  of  his  country, 
and  remain  in  it  until  her  independence  should  be  secured. 
He  could  not  continue  to  be  a  cool  spectator  of  a  contest 
in  which  the  dearest  rights  and  interests  of  his  country 
were  involved.  On  his  arrival  in  Sullivan,  he  found  a 
requisition  from  General  Charles  McDowell,  requesting 
him  to  furnish  all  the  aid  in  his  power  to  check  the  enemy, 
who  had  overrun  the  two  Southern  States,  and  were  on  the 
borders  of  North  Carolina.  Colonel  Shelby  assembled  the 
militia  of  his  county,  called  upon  them  to  volunteer  their 
services  for  a  short  time  on  that  interesting  occasion,  and 
marched,  in  a  few  days,  with  three  hundred  mounted  rifle- 
men across  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 

In  a  short  time  after  his  arrival  at  McDowell's  Camp, 
near  the  Cherokee  Ford  of  Broad  River,  Colonel  Shelby  and 
Lieutenant-Colonels  Sevin  and  Clarke,  the  latter  a  refugee 


1 6O  APPENDIX. 

officer  from  Georgia,  were  detached  with  six  hundred  men 
to  surprise  a  post  of  the  enemy,  in  front,  on  the  waters  of 
Pacolet  river.  It  was  a  strong  fort,  surrounded  by  abattis, 
built  in  the  Cherokee  war,  and  commanded  by  that  distin- 
guished loyalist,  Captain  Patrick  Moore,  who  surrendered 
the  garrison  with  one  British  sergeant-major,  ninety-three 
loyalists,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  stand  of  arms.  Major 
Ferguson,  of  the  British  army,  though  a  brigadier-general 
in  the  royal  militia,  and  the  most  distinguished  partisan 
officer  in  the  British  army,  made  many  ineffectual  efforts  to 
surprise  Colonel  Shelby.  His  advance,  about  six  or  seven 
hundred  strong,  came  up  with  the  American  commander 
at  Cedar  Spring,  and,  before  Ferguson  approached  with  his 
whole  force,  the  Americans  took  two  officers  and  fifty  men 
prisoners,  and  safely  effected  their  retreat.  It  was  in  the 
severest  part  of  this  action  that  Colonel  Shelby's  attention 
was  arrested  by  the  heroic  conduct  of  Colonel  Clarke.  He 
often  mentioned  the  circumstance  of  his  ceasing  in  the 
midst  of  the  battle  to  look  with  astonishment  and  admira- 
tion at  Clarke's  fighting. 

The  next  important  event  was  the  battle  fought  at 
Musgrove's  Mill,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Enoree  river,  dis- 
tant forty  miles,  with  seven  hundred  men,  led  by  Colonels 
Shelby,  Clarke,  and  Williams,  of  South  Carolina.  This  affair 
took  place  on  the  igth  of  August,  and  is  more  particularly 
described  in  the  sketch  of  Colonel  Shelby,  inserted  in  the 
first  volume  of  the  "  National  Portrait  Gallery,"  published 
in  1834  under  the  direction  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Fine  Arts.  It  has  been  introduced  into  the  historical 
romance  called  "  Horse-Shoe  Robinson,"  and  noticed,  also, 
in  McCall's  "  History  of  Georgia,"  where  the  British  loss  is 
stated  to  be  sixty-three  killed  and  one  hundred  and  sixty 
wounded  and  taken;  the  American  loss  four  killed  and  nine 
wounded,  — among  the  former  Captain  Inman,  and  among 
the  latter  Colonel  Clarke  and  Captain  Clarke.  Colonel 
Innes,  the  British  commander  of  the  "  Queen's  American 
Regiment,"  from  New  York,  was  wounded ;  and  all  the 


MEMOIR   OF    GOVERNOR   SHELBY.  l6l 

British  officers,  except  a  subaltern,  were  killed  or  wounded; 
and  Captain  Hawsey,  a  noted  leader  among  the  Tories,  was 
killed.  The  Americans  intended  to  be,  that  evening-,  before 

o  ? 

Ninety-six ;  but  at  that  moment  an  express  from  General 
McDowell  came  up,  in  great  haste,  with  a  short  note  from 
Governor  Caswell,  dated  on  the  battle-ground,  apprising 
McDowell  of  the  defeat  of  the  American  grand  army,  under 
General  Gates,  on  the  i6th,  near  Camden.  Fortunately, 
Colonel  Shelby  knew  Caswell's  handwriting,  and  by  dis- 
tributing the  prisoners  among  the  companies  so  as  to  make 
one  to  every  three  men,  who  carried  them  alternately  on 
horseback,  the  detachment  moved  directly  toward  the 
mountains.  The  Americans  were  saved  by  a  long  and 
rapid  march  that  day  and  night,  and  until  the  evening  of 
the  next  day.  without  halting  to  refresh.  Colonel  Shelby, 
after  seeing  the  party  and  prisoners  out  of  danger,  retreated 
to  the  Western  waters,  and  left  the  prisoners  in  the  charge 
of  Clarke  and  Williams,  to  convey  them  to  a  place  of  safety 
in  Virginia;  for  at  that  moment  there  was  no  corps  of 
Americans  south  of  that  State.  The  brilliancy  of  this 
affair  was  obscured,  as  indeed  were  all  the  minor  events  of 
the  previous  war,  by  the  deep  gloom  which  overspread 
the  public  mind  after  the  disastrous  defeat  of  General 
Gates. 

Ferguson  was  so  solicitous  to  recapture  the  prisoners, 
and  to  check  these  daring  adventures  of  the  mountaineers, 
that  he  made  a  strenuous  effort,  with  his  main  body,  to 
intercept  them  ;  but  failing  of  his  object,  he  took  post  at  a 
place  called  Gilberttown,  from  whence  he  sent  the  most 
threatening  messages  by  paroled  prisoners  to  the  officers 
west  of  the  mountains,  proclaiming  devastation  to  their 
country  if  they  did  not  cease  their  opposition  to  the  British 
Government. 

This  was  the  most  disastrous  and  critical  period  of  the 
revolutionary  war  to  the  South.  No  one  could  see  whence 
a  force  could  be  raised  to  check  the  enemy  in  their  progress 
to  subjugate  this  portion  of  the  continent. 


1 62  APPENDIX. 

Cornwallis,  with  the  main  army,  was  posted  at  Charlotte- 
town  in  North  Carolina,  and  Ferguson,  with  three  thou- 
sand, at  Gilberttown ;  while  many  of  the  best  friends  of 
the  American  Government,  despairing  of  the  freedom  and 
independence  of  America,  took  protection  under  the  British 
standard.  At  this  gloomy  moment,  Colonel  Shelby  pro- 
posed to  Colonels  Sevin  and  Campbell  to  raise  a  force 
from  their  several  counties,  march  hastily  through  the 
mountains,  and  attack  and  surprise  Ferguson  in  the  night. 
Accordingly,  they  collected  with  their  followers,  about 
one  thousand  strong,  on  Doe  Run,  in  the  spurs  of  the 
Alleghany,  on  the  25th  of  September,  1780,  and  the  next 
day  commenced  their  march,  when  it  was  discovered 
that  three  of  Colonel  Sevin's  men  had  deserted  to  the 
enemy.  This  disconcerted  their  first  design,  and  induced 
them  to  turn  to  the  left,  gain  his  front,  and  act  as  events 
might  suggest.  They  travelled  through  mountains  almost 
inaccessible  to  horsemen.  As  soon  as  they  entered  the 
level  country,  they  met  with  Colonel  Cleveland  with  three 
hundred  men,  and  with  Colonels  Williams  and  Lacy,  and 
other  refugee  officers,  who  had  heard  of  Cleveland's  ad- 
vance, by  which  three  hundred  more  were  added  to  the 
mountaineers.  They  now  considered  themselves  to  be 
sufficiently  strong  to  encounter  Ferguson  ;  but  being  rather 
a  confused  mass,  without  any  head,  it  was  proposed  by 
Colonel  Shelby  in  a  council  of  officers,  and  agreed  to,  that 
Colonel  Campbell,  of  the  Virginia  Regiment,  —  an  officer 
of  enterprise,  patriotism,  and  good  sense, — should  be 
appointed  to  the  command.  And  having  determined  to 
pursue  Ferguson,  with  all  practicable  dispatch,  two  nights 
before  the  action,  they  selected  the  best  horses  and  rifles, 
and  at  the  dawn  of  day  commenced  their  march  with  nine 
hundred  and  ten  expert  marksmen.  As  Ferguson  was  their 
object,  they  would  not  be  diverted  from  the  main  point  by  any 
collection  of  Tories  in  the  vicinity  of  their  route.  They  had 
pursued  him  for  the  last  thirty-six  hours  without  alighting 
from  their  horses  to  refresh  but  once  —  at  the  Cowpens  —  for 


MEMOIR   OF    GOVERNOR   SHELBY.  163 

an  hour,  although  the  day  of  the  action  was  so  extremely 
wet  that  the  men  could  only  keep  their  guns  dry  by  wrap- 
ping their  bags,  blankets,  and  hunting -shirts  around  the 
locks,  which  exposed  their  bodies  to  a  heavy  and  incessant 
rain  during  the  pursuit. 

By  the  order  of  march  and  of  battle,  Colonel  Campbell's 
regiment  formed  the  right,  and  Colonel  Shelby's  regiment 
the  left  column,  in  the  centre  ;  the  right  wing  was  composed 
of  Colonel  Levier's  regiment,  and  Major  Winston's  and 
McDowell's  battalions  commanded  by  Levier  himself;  the 
left  wing  was  composed  of  Colonel  Cleveland's  regiment, 
the  followers  of  Colonels  Williams,  Lacy,  Hawthorne,  and 
Hill,'  headed  by  Colonel  Cleveland  in  person.  In  this 
order  the  mountaineers  pursued  until  they  found  Ferguson 
securely  encamped  on  King's  Mountain,  which  was  about 
half  a  mile  long,  and  from  which  he  declared  the  evening 
before,  that  "God  Almighty"  could  not  drive  him.  On  ap- 
proaching the  mountain,  the  two  centre  columns  deployed 
to  the  right  and  left,  formed  a  front,  and  attacked  the 
enemy,  while  the  right  and  left  wings  were  marching  to 
surround  him.  In  a  few  minutes  the  action  became  general 
and  severe,  —  continuing  furiously  for  three-fourths  of  an 
hour,  —  when  the  enemy,  being  driven  from  the  east  to  the 
west  end  of  the  mountain,  surrendered  at  discretion. 
Ferguson  was  killed,  with  three  hundred  and  seventy-five 
of  his  officers  and  men,  and  seven  hundred  and  thirty  cap- 
tured. The  Americans  had  sixty  killed  and  wounded ;  of 
the  former,  Colonel  Williams.  This  glorious  achievement 
occurred  at  the  most  gloomy  period  of  the  Revolution,  and 
was  the  first  link  in  the  great  chain  of  events  to  the  South 
which  established  the  independence  of  the  United  States. 
History  has  heretofore,  though  improperly,  ascribed  this 
merit  to  the  battle  of  the  Cowpens,  in  January,  1781  ;  but 
it  belongs,  justly,  to  the  victory  on  King's  Mountain,  which 
turned  the  tide  of  war  to  the  South,  as  the  victory  of 
Trenton  under  Washington,  and  of  Bennington  under  Stark, 
did  to  the  North.  It  was  achieved  by  raw,  undisciplined 


1 64  APPENDIX. 

riflemen,  without  any  authority  from  the  government  under 
which  they  lived;  without  pay,  rations,  ammunition,  or 
even  the  expectation  of  reward,  other  than  that  which  re- 
sults from  the  noble  ambition  of  advancing  the  liberty  and 
welfare  of  their  beloved  country.  It  completely  dispirited 
the  Tories,  and  so  alarmed  Cornwallis,  who  then  lay 
only  thirty  miles  north  of  King's  Mountain  with  the  main 
British  army,  that,  on  securing  information  of  Ferguson's 
total  defeat  and  overthrow  by  the  riflemen  of  the  West, 
under  Colonels  Campbell,  Shelby,  Cleveland,  and  Levier, 
and  that  they  were  bearing  down  upon  him,  he  ordered  an 
immediate  retreat;  marched  all  night  in  the  utmost  confu- 
sion, and  retrograded  as  far  back  as  Trainsborough,  sixty 
or  eighty  miles,  whence  he  did  not  attempt  to  advance 
until  reinforced  three  months  after  by  General  Leslie,  with 
two  thousand  men  from  the  Chesapeake.  In  the  mean  time 
the  militia  of  North  Carolina  assembled  in  considerable 
force  at  New  Providence,  on  the  border  of  South  Caiolina, 
under  General  Davidson  ;  and  General  Smallwood,  with 
Morgan's  light  corps  and  the  Maryland  line,  advanced  to 
the  same  point.  General  Gates,  with  the  shattered  remains 
of  his  army  collected  at  Hillsborough,  also  came,  up,  as 
well  as  the  new  levies  from  Virginia,  of  one  thousand  men, 
under  General  Stevens.  This  force  enabled  General  Green, 
who  assumed  the  command  early  in  December,  to  hold 
Cornwallis  in  check. 

The  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  passed  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  Colonel  Shelby  and  several  other  officers,  and 
directed  each  to  be  presented  with  an  elegant  sword  for 
their  patriotic  conduct  in  the  attacks  and  defeat  of  the 
enemy  on  King's  Mountain,  on  the  memorable  7th  of 
October,  1780.  This  resolution  was  carried  into  effect  as 
to  Colonel  Shelby,  in  the  summer  of  1813,  just  at  the  mo- 
ment when, -in  the  language  of  Secretary  Monroe,  "  disclaim- 
ing all  metaphysical  distinctions  tending  to  enfeeble  the 
Government,"  he  was  about  to  lead  his  troops  far  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  State  of  which  he  was  Governor.  The 


MEMOIR    OF    GOVERNOR    SHELBY.  163 

presentation,  at  that  particular  time,  afforded  a  presage  of 
the  new  glory  he  was  to  acquire  for  himself  and  country  in 
that  eventful  campaign.  If  any  were  entitled  to  special 
commendation  in  this  band  of  heroic  spirits  on  King's 
Mountain,  the  claim  of  Colonel  Shelby  would  be  well 
founded.  He  originated  the  expedition,  and  his  valor  and 
unshaken  resolution  contributed  to  rally  the  right  of  the 
front  line,  when  driven  down  the  mountain  by  a  tre- 
mendous charge  from  the  enemy  at  the  outset  of  the  battle. 
Nor  have  the  histories  of  the  war  in  the  South  done  justice 
to  the  sagacity  and  judgment  of  Colonel  Shelby  upon 
another  interesting  occasion  just  following  the  affair  on 
King's  Mountain.  As  soon  as  he  had  placed  the  prisoners 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  enemy,  he  repaired  to  the  head- 
quarters of  General  Gates,  and  suggested  to  him  the  plan 
of  detaching  General  Morgan  towards  the  mountains.  The 
details  of  this  arrangement  were  submitted  by  him,  and 
approved  by  Gates,  and  Greene  had  the  good  sense  to 
adopt  them,  after  he  assembled  the  command.  The  result 
of  his  advice  was  exhibited  in  the  splendid  affair  at  the 
Cowpens,  which  added  fresh  laurels  to  the  veteran  brows 
of  Morgan,  Hozvard,  and  Washington. 

In  the  campaign  of  the  fall  of  1781,  Colonel  Shelby 
served  under  General  Marion,  a  distinguished  partisan 
officer  of  the  boldest  enterprise.  He  was  called  down  by 
General  Greene  to  that  lower  country,  with  five  hundred 
mounted  riflemen  from  the  Western  waters,  in  September, 
1781,  to  aid  the  General  in  intercepting  Cornwallis,  at  that 
time  blockaded  by  the  French  fleet  in  the  Chesapeake,  and 
who,  it  was  suspected,  would  endeavor  to  make  good  his 
retreat  through  North  Carolina  to  Charleston ;  but,  upon 
his  lordship's  surrender  in  Virginia,  Colonel  Shelby  was 
attached  to  General  Marion's  command  below,  on  the 
Santee,  and  was  second  in  command  of  a  strong  detach- 
ment of  dragoons  under  Colonel  Mayhew,  ordered  to  carry 
a  British  post  at  Fairlawn,  near  Monk's  Corner,  eight  or 
ten  miles  below  the  enemy's  main  army  under  General 


1 66  APPENDIX. 

Stuart.  Information  had  been  received  by  General  Marion 
that  five  hundred  Hessians,  at  that  post,  were  in  a  state  of 
mutiny,  and  would  surrender  to  any  considerable  force  that 
might  appear  before  it.  But  the  officer  commanding  the 
post,  having  some  apprehensions  of  their  fidelity,  had 
marched  them  off  to  Charleston  the  day  before  Colonel 
Mayhew  appeared  before  it.  The  post,  however,  was  sur- 
rendered with  one  hundred  and  fifty  British  prisoners.  The 
British  General  at  Ferguson's  Swamp,  nine  miles  in  the 
rear,  made  great,  though  unavailing  efforts  to  intercept 
Mayhew's  party  on  their  return  with  their  prisoners  to 
General  Marion's  encampment.  Immediately  after  this 
excursion,  the  British  commander  retreated  with  his  whole 
force  to  Charleston. 

As  the  period  for  which  the  mounted  volunteers  had 
engaged  to  serve  was  about  to  expire,  and  no  further  active 
operations  being  contemplated  after  the  retreat  of  the 
enemy  towards  Charleston,  Colonel  Shelby  obtained  leave 
of  absence  from  General  Marion  to  attend  the  Assembly 
of  North  Carolina  (of  which  he  was  a  member),  which 
would  sit  two  hundred  miles  distant,  about  the  first  of 
December.  Marion  addressed  a  letter  on  the  subject  to 
General  Greene,  which  Colonel  Shelby  was  permitted  to 
see,  speaking  in  high  terms  of  the  conduct  of  the  moun- 
taineers, and  assigning  particular  credit  to  Colonel  Shelby 
for  his  conduct  in  the  capture  of  the  British  post,  as  it  sur- 
rendered to  him  after  an  ineffectual  attempt  by  an  officer 
of  the  dragoons. 

In  1782  Colonel  Shelby  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
North  Carolina  Assembly,  and  was  appointed  one  of  the 
commissioners  to  settle  the  preemption  claims  upon  the 
Cumberland  river,  and  to  lay  off"  the  lands  allotted  to  the 
officers  and  soldiers  of  the  North  Carolina  line,  south  of 
where  Nashville  now  stands.  He  performed  this  service 
in  the  winter  of  1782-83,  and  returned  to  Boonsborough, 
Ky.,  in  April  following,  where  he  married  Susanna,  second 
daughter  of  Captain  Nathaniel  Hart,  one  of  the  first 


MEMOIR   OF    GOVERNOR    SHELBY.  167 

settlers  of  Kentucky,  and  one  of  the  proprietors  styled 
Henderson  &  Co.,  by  their  purchase  of  the  county  from  the 
Cherokees. 

He  established  himself  on  the  first  settlement  and  pre- 
emption granted  in  Kentucky,  for  the  purpose  of  pursuing 
his  favorite  occupation,  the  cultivation  of  the  soil ;  and  it 
is  a  remarkable  fact,  pregnant  with  many  curious  reflections, 
that,  at  the  period  of  his  death,  forty-three  years  after,  he 
was  the  only  individual  in  the  State  residing  upon  his 
own  settlement  and  preemption.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  early  conventions  held  at  Danville  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  a  separation  from  the  State  of  Virginia;  and 
was>  a  member  of  that  convention  which  formed  the  first 
constitution  of  Kentucky  in  April,  1792.  In  May  following 
he  was  elected  the  first  chief  magistrate,  and  discharged  its 
arduous  duties  with  signal  advantage  to  the  State.  The 
history  of  his  administration  of  an  infant  republic  in  the 
remote  wilderness  would  fill  a  volume  with  deeply  inter- 
"esting  incidents,  exhibiting  him  advantageously  in  the 
character  of  a  soldier,  of  a  lawgiver,  and  a  diplomatist ; 
but  the  limits  prescribed  to  this  sketch  will  not  permit  a 
detail  of  them. 

After  completing  the  organization  of  the  government 
under  the  constitution  by  filling  the  various  offices  created 
by  it,  the  earnest  attention  of  the  Governor  was  directed  to 
the  defence  of  the  State  against  the  Indian  incursions  and 
the  border  war  to  which  the  people  were  exposed  by  their 
remote  and  unprotected  position  in  the  wilderness.  Gen- 
eral Washington's  paternal  regard  to  the  same  high  object 
was  manifested  in  the  cautious  and  extensive  arrangements 
which  were  made  under  the  direction  of  General  Wayne 
for  a  strong  expedition  against  the  Northwestern  Indians 
who  were  stimulated  and  aided  by  the  British  and  pro- 
vincial forces  occupying  posts  within  our  boundary.  The 
confidence  of  Washington,  as  well  as  of  the  people  of 
Kentucky,  was  reposed  in  the  energy  and  patriotism  of 
Governor  Shelby.  This  was  evinced  in  his  almost  unan- 


1 68  APPENDIX. 

imous  election  to  the  chief  magistracy,  as  well  as  in  the 
answer  of  the  first  legislature  to  his  message,  and  in  a 
letter  from  Gerreral  Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  of  July  12, 
1792. 

In  the  subsequent  letter  from  the  War  Department,  the 
defensive  operations  for  the  protection  of  Kentucky  were 
committed  exclusively  to  his  judgment  and  discretion  ;  and, 
whenever  there  was  a  prospect  of  acting  offensively  against 
the  Indians  of  the  Northwest,  the  President  made  an  ap- 
peal to  his  patriotism  and  that  of  the  State  in  furnishing 
mounted  volunteers  in  aid  of  the  regular  force.  His  energy 
and  the  gallantry  of  Kentucky  was  signally  displayed  in 
the  valuable  succor  rendered  to  General  Wayne  on  the 
memorable  2Oth  of  August,  1794.  His  enlightened  fore- 
cast and  the  valor  of  Kentucky  contributed  on  this  occasion, 
as  on  the  equally  glorious  5th  of  October,  1813.  the  means 
of  victory  both  in  men  and  transportation,  at  a  critical 
moment  leading  to  victories  more  decisive  in  their  results 
than  any  heretofore  proven  in  Indian  warfare. 

While  the  people  of  Kentucky  were  interrupted  in  their 
business  and  prosperity  by  the  attention  necessary  to  the 
progress  of  the  Indian  war,  they  were  annoyed  by  con- 
tinued apprehensions  of  losing  the  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi on  which  their  commercial  existence  depended. 
In  the  midst  of  these  difficulties,  a  new  and  unexpected 
occasion  presented  itself  for  the  display  of  Governor  Shelby's 
diplomatic  sagacity.  The  complaints  and  remonstrances  of 
the  Spanish  minister  induced  the  general  government  to 
open  a  correspondence  with  Governor  Shelby,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  suppressing  an  expedition,  which  was  represented 
to  be  in  contemplation  by  La  Chaise  and  other  French 
agents  against  the  possessions  of  Spain  on  the  Mississippi. 
Governor  Shelby  had  no  apprehensions  that  they  would 
succeed  in  organizing  the  necessary  force,  and  under  this 
impression  his  reply  to  the  Department  of  State,  October 
5th,  1793,  was  forwarded  without  considering  that  he  had 
not  authority  under  existing  laws  to  interfere  in  preventing 


MEMOIR   OF    GOVERNOR    SHELBY.  169 

it.  But  the  granting  of  commissions  to  General  Clarke 
and  other  influential  individuals,  and  the  actual  attempt  to 
carry  the  plans  of  French  emissaries  into  effect,  induced 
the  Governor  to  examine  the  subject  more  thoroughly ; 
and,  conceiving  that  he  had  no  legal  authority  to  interfere, 
he  addressed  a  letter,  January  1 3th,  1794,  to  the  Secretary 
of  State,  expressing  these  doubts,  and  assuming  an  attitude 
which,  though  professing  the  most  devoted  regard  to  the 
Union,  had  the  effect  of  drawing  from  the  general  Govern- 
ment a  full  development  of  the  measures  which  had  been 
pursued  for  securing  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 
These  explanations  by  the  Department  of  State  and  by  the 
special  commissionec,  the  eloquent  Colonel  James  Innes, 
Attorney-General  of  Virginia,  who  was  deputed  by  General 
Washington  to  proceed  to  Kentucky,  to  communicate  with 
the  Governor  and  Legislature,  removed  all  ground  for 
uneasiness,  and  created  a  tranquillity  in  the  public  mind 
which  had  not  existed  since  the  first  settlement  of  the  State. 
The  whole  subject  was  communicated  by  Governor 
Shelby  to  the  Legislature  on  the  I5th  of  November,  1794; 
and  the  part  he  took  in  it  was  approved  by  that  body. 
The  act  of  Congress,  on  the  subject,  passed  after  the  re- 
ceipt of  Governor  Shelby's  letter,  shows  conclusively  that 
the  legislature  of  the  United  States  did  not  conceive  that 
previously  he  had  authority  to  interfere  in  the  mode  re- 
commended by  the  Department  of  State.  This  measure 
on  the  part  of  Governor  Shelby,  though  it  might  seem  to 
conflict  with  the  opinions  and  policy  of  General  Washing- 
ton, did  not  produce  in  the  mind  of  the  father  of  his  coun- 
try any  diminution  of  the  respect  and  confidence  he  had 
theretofore  reposed  in  him ;  for,  in  May  following,  General 
Knox,  Secretary  of  War,  in  a  letter  detailing  the  plans  of 
the  general  government  in  relation  to  Wayne's  proposed 
campaign,  takes  occasion  to  say  that  "the  President,  con- 
fiding in  the  patriotism  and  good  disposition  of  your  Ex- 
cellency, requests  that  you  will  afford  all  the  facilities, 
countenance,  and  aid  in  your  power,  to  the  proposed  expe- 

22 


1 70  APPENDIX. 

dition ;  and  from  which,  if  successful,  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky will  reap  the  most  abundant  advantages."  In  the 
next  paragraph  he  is  appointed  president  of  the  Board  for 
selecting  the  field  and  company  officers,  and  concludes 
with  the  assurance  that  General  Wayne  has  been  written 
to  not  to  interfere  in  the  defensive  protection  of  Kentucky, 
which  is  hereby,  in  the  name  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  confided  to  your  Excellency  under  the  following 
general  paragraph,  &c.,  &c. 

At  the  close  of  his  gubernatorial  term,  he  returned  to  his 
farm,  in  Lincoln,  with  renewed  relish  for  the  cares  and 
enjoyments  which  its  management  necessarily  created.  He 
was  as  distinguished  for  the  method,  and  judgment,  and 
industry,  which  he  displayed  in  agricultural  pursuits,  as  he 
had  exemplified  in  the  more  conspicuous  duties  of  the 
general  and  statesman.  He  was  the  model  of  an  elevated 
citizen,  whether  at  the  plough,  in  the  field,  or  in  the  cabinet. 

He  was  repeatedly  chosen  an  elector  of  President,  and 
voted  for  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Madison.  He  could  not 
yield  to  the  repeated  solicitations  of  influential  individuals 
in  different  parts  of  the  State,  requesting  him  to  consent  to 
be  a  candidate  for  the  chief  magistracy,  until  the  exigencies 
of  our  national  affairs  had  brought  about  a  crisis  which  de- 
manded the  services  of  every  patriot.  In  this  contingency 
he  was  elected,  upon  terms  very  gratifying  to  his  feelings, 
a  second  time  to  the  chief  magistracy  at  the  commencement 
of  the  war,  in  1812,  with  Great  Britain.  Of  his  career  at 
that  eventful  period  it  would  be  impracticable,  in  the  limits 
of  this  sketch,  to  present  even  an  outline. 

His  energy,  associated  with  a  recollection  of  his  revolu- 
tionary fame,  aroused  the  patriotism  of  the  State.  In  every 
direction  he  developed  her  resources,  and  aided  in  sending 
men  and  supplies  to  the  support  of  the  Northwestern  army 
under  General  Harrison.  The  Legislature  of  Kentucky,  in 
the  winter  of  1812-1813,  contemplating  the  necessity  of 
some  vigorous  effort  in  the  course  of  that  year,  to  regain 
the  ground  lost  by  the  disasters  at  Detroit  and  at  the  River 


MEMOIR    OF    GOVERNOR    SHELBY.  171 

Raisin,  passed  a  resolution  authorizing  and  requesting  the 
Governor  to  assume  the  personal  direction  of  the  troops  of 
the  State,  whenever  in  his  judgment  such  a  step  would  be 
necessary.  Under  this  authority,  and  at  the  solicitation  of 
General  Harrison,  he  invited  his  countrymen  to  meet  him 
at  New  Port,  and  accompany  him  to  the  scene  of  active, 
and,  as  he  predicted,  of  decisive  operations.  Upon  his 
own  responsibility  he  authorized  the  troops  to  meet  him 
with  their  horses.  Four  thousand  men  rallied  to  his 
standard  in  less  than  thirty  days ;  and  this  volunteer  force 
reached  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie  just  in  time  to  enable  the 
commander  -  in  -  chief  to  profit  by  the  splendid  victory 
achieved  by  the  genius  and  heroism  of  Perry  and  his 
associates. 

It  was  a  most  interesting  incident,  which  augured  favor- 
ably for  the  issue  of  the  campaign,  that  Governor  Shelby 
should  arrive  at  the  camp  of  General  Harrison,  precisely  at 
the  moment  when  Commodore  Perry  was  disembarking 
his  prisoners.  The  feelings  of  congratulation  which  were 
exchanged  by  the  three  heroes,  at  the  tent  of  the  General 
on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  may  be  more  readily  conceived 
than  described.  The  writer  of  this  article  had  been  previ- 
ously dispatched  by  General  Harrison  to  Commodore 
Perry,  to  ascertain  the  result  of  the  naval  battle,  and,  re- 
turning with  Perry,  was  present  at  this  interview. 

In  the  organization  which  Governor  Shelby  made  of  his 
forces,  he  availed  himself  of  the  character  and  respectability 
of  the  materials  at  his  command. 

Generals  Henry  and  Desha  were  assigned  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  two  divisions,  and  General  Calmes,  Caldwell, 
King,  Chiles,  and  Galloway  to  the  brigades.  His  confiden- 
tial staff  was  composed,  among  other  respectable  citizens, 
of  the  names  of  Adair,  Crittenden,  and  Barry,  so  well  known 
in  the  history  of  the  State  and  of  the  nation.  As  Governor 
of  Kentucky,  his  authority  ceased  as  soon  as  he  passed  the 
limits  of  the  State  ;  but  the  confidence  of  General  Harrison 
and  of  all  the  troops  in  his  judgment  and  patriotism  was 


172  APPENDIX. 

so  exalted,  that  he  was  regarded  as  the  mentor  of  the 
campaign,  and  recognized  as  the  senior  major-general  of 
the  Kentucky  troops.  In  the  general  order  of  march  and 
of  battle,  the  post  assigned  to  him  was  the  most  important, 
and  the  subsequent  battle  evinced  that  the  arrangement 
was  as  creditable  to  the  sagacity  of  General  Harrison  as  it 
was  complimentary  to  the  valor  of  Governor  Shelby. 

In  all  the  movements  of  the  campaign,  whether  in  council 
or  execution,  monuments  of  his  valor  and  of  his  energetic 
character  were  erected  by  the  gratitude  of  the  commander- 
in-chief,  of  all  his  troops,  and  of  the  President  of  the  nation, 
who  spoke  officially  of  his  services  with  the  veneration 
which  belongs  only  to  public  benefactors.  The  Legislature 
of  Kentucky  and  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  ex- 
pressed their  sense  of  his  gallant  conduct  in  resolutions 
which  will  transmit  his  name  to  posterity  as  a  patriot  with- 
out reproach,  and  a  soldier  without  ambition. 

The  vote  of  Congress,  assigning  to  him  and  to  General 
Harrison  each  a  gold  medal  commemorative  of  the  decisive 
victory  on  the  Thames,  was  delayed  one  session  in  con- 
sequence of  some  prejudice  prevailing  in  the  public  mind 
in  relation  to  General  Harrison.  As  soon  as  Governor 
Shelby  was  advised  of  this  fact,  he  solicited  his  friends  in 
Congress,  through  Mr.  Clay,  to  permit  no  expression  of 
thanks  to  him,  unless  associated  ivith  the  name  of  General 
Harrison.  This  magnanimous  conduct  and  the  unqualified 
commendation  which  he  gave  of  the  career  of  General 
Harrison  on  that  campaign,  connected  with  a  favorable 
report  of  a  committee  at  the  next  session  of  Congress, 
instituted  at  the  request  of  the  General,  of  which  Colonel 
R.  M.  Johnson  was  chairman,  led  to  the  immediate  adop- 
tion of  the  original  resolution. 

Governor  Shelby  was  unremitting  in  the  aid  which  he 
extended  to  the  operations  of  the  general  government 
during  the  war.  He  furnished  troops  to  defend  the  country 
around  Detroit,  and  dispatched  an  important  reinforcement 
to  General  Jackson  for  the  defence  of  New  Orleans.  His 


MEMOIR   OF    GOVERNOR    SHELBY.  173 

sagacity  led  him  to  send  General  Adair,  as  adjutant-general 
with  the  rank  of  brigadier- general,  to  meet  the  precise 
contingency,  which  actually  occurred,  of  General  Thomas 
being  sick  or  disabled.  The  result  of  this  measure  was  ex- 
hibited in  the  critical  succor  afforded  by  General  Adair  on 
the  memorable  8th  of  January.  In  the  civil  administration 
of  the  State,  Governor  Shelby's  policy  continued  to  estab- 
lish and  confirm  the  sound  principles  of  his  predecessors. 
Integrity,  fidelity  to  the  Constitution,  and  capacity,  were 
the  qualifications  which  he  required  in  public  officers  ;  and 
his  recommendations  in  the  Legislature  enforced  a  strict 
regard  to  public  economy  and  to  the  claims  of  public  faith. 
In,  the  fall  of  1816  his  term  expired,  and  he  retired  again  to 
the  sweets  of  domestic  life,  in  the  prosecution  of  his  favorite 
pursuit. 

In  March,  1817,  he  was  selected  by  President  Monroe 
to  fill  the  Department  of  War ;  but  his  advanced  age,  the 
details  of  the  office,  and  his  desire  in  a  period  of  peace  to 
remain  in  private  life,  induced  him  to  decline  an  acceptance 
of  it.  In  1818,  he  was  commissioned  by  the  President  to 
act,  in  conjunction  with  General  Jackson,  in  forming  a  treaty 
with  the  Chickas^w  tribe  of  Indians,  for  the  purchase  of 
their  lands  west  of  Tennessee  river  within  the  limits  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  and  they  obtained  a  cession  of 
the  territory  of  the  United  States,  which  unites  the  Western 
population,  and  adds  greatly  to  the  defence  of  the  country 
in  the  event  of  future  wars  with  the  savages  or  with  any 
European  power.  This  was  his  last  public  act. 

In  February,  1820,  he  was  attacked  with  a  paralytic 
affection,  which  disabled  his  right  arm,  and  which  was  the 
occasion  of  his  walking  lame  on  the  right  leg.  His  mind 
continued  unimpaired  until  his  death  by  apoplexy  on  the 
1 8th  July,  1826,  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age.  It 
was  a  consolation  to  his  afflicted  family  to  cherish  the 
hope  that  he  was  prepared  for  this  event.  In  the  vigor  of 
life  he  professed  it  to  be  his  duty  to  dedicate  himself  to 
God,  and  to  seek  an  interest  in  the  merits  of  the  Redeemer. 


1 74  APPENDIX. 

He  had  been  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church ;  and  in  his  latter  days  he  was  the  chief  instru- 
ment in  erecting  a  house  of  worship  upon  his  own  land. 
The  vigor  of  his  constitution  fitted  him  to  endure  active 
and  severe  bodily  exercise,  and  the  energetic  symmetry  of 
his  person,  united  with  a  peculiar  suavity  of  manner,  ren- 
dered his  deportment  impressively  dignified ;  his  strong, 
natural  sense  was  aided  by  close  observation  on  men  and 
things;  and  the  valuable  qualities  of  method  and  persever- 
ance imparted  success  to  all  his  efforts. 


STUDIES  IN  LITERATURE, 
BY  G.  W.  GRIFFIN, 

UNITED   STATES  CONSUL  AT  COPENHAGEN. 

|hfa)  glfbistb  (gbition. 
12mo.  $1.75. 

CLAXTON,  KEMSEN  &  HAFFELFINGEK, 

PHILADELPHIA. 


From  the  Philadelphia  Age. 

The  volume  opens  with  a  portraiture  of  George  D.  Prentice,  the 
widely  known  editor  of  the  Louisville  "Journal."  The  author  was 
his  persi  nal  friend.  The  insight  which  it  gives  into  the  character  of 
Mr.  Prer.tice,  will  interest  all  who  have  heard  of  his  prose  and  poetry. 
Besides  a  number  of  careful  and  very  original  criticisms  on  the  Plays 
of  Shakspeare,  we  find  two  articles  on  Booth's  Hamlet  and  Macbeth. 
Our  national  pride  in  the  fame  of  this  dramatic  artist  is  a  warrant  that 
these  notices  of  him  will  be  read,  and  they  will  be  found  to  contain 
the  best  elements  of  criticism,  intelligence,  and  good  taste. 

From  the  Philadelphia  Press. 

Varied  in  its  range  of  subject,  rich  in  thought,  light  and  graceful  in 
treatment  and  style,  and  the  result  of  wide  and  conscientious  study,  we 
can  commend  this  volume  unhesitatingly  as  an  admirable  selection  for 
general  reading.  /Esthetically,  its  educational  influence  will  be  most 
happy. 

From  the  New  York  Home  Journal. 

Mr.  Griffin  treats,  in  the  present  volume,  twenty-two  subjects  with 
wonderful  originality  and  clearness.  Poets,  actors,  dramatists,  and 
philologists  whose  names  are  familiar  to  the  educated  of  both  hemi- 
spheres, are  sketched  with  rare  skill ;  and  one  lingers  over  his  de- 
scriptions, and  his  chaste,  beautiful  English,  with  no  ordinary  pleasure. 

From  the  Cincinnati  Enquirer. 

The  best  notice  we  have  ever  seen  of  Mr.  Prentice  and  his  works,  is 
from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Griffin  —  the  first  of  a  series  of  biographical  sketches 
in  this  volume.  It  is  characterized,  as  all  his  articles  are,  by  historical 
and  literary  research,  by  great  purity  of  diction  and  vigor  of  style. 

From  the  New  Orleans  Times. 

A  new  edition  of  a  work  very  favorably  received  upon  its  first  pub- 
lication. It  consists  of  a  series  of  essays  upon  prominent  topics,  in- 
cluding some  excellent  theatrical  reviews,  written  in  chaste  style,  and 
with  considerable  powei  The  work  will  commend  itself  to  al'  I 


From  the  Carlisle  Mercury, 

It  is,  indeed,  as  is  indicated  by  its  title,  a  study  in  literature,  and 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  intelligent  person. 

From  R.  Shelton  Mackenzie. 

The  recollections  of  the  late  Geo.  D.  Prentice,  the  great  newspaper 
editor,  are  so  considerably  extended  as  indeed  to  form  a  satisfactory 
biography.  Mr.  Griffin  handles  his  subject  with  delicacy  and  vigor; 
he  doth  "  nothing  extenuate,"  but  presents  a  true  portrait  of  one  who 
was  very  eminent  in  his  profession,  who  might  (and  ought  to)have  stood 
in  the  van  of  American  literati,  but  who,  in  newspaper  work,  on  which 
his  life  was  spent  — 

"  To  party  gave  up  what  was  meant  for  mankind." 

Through  Mr.  Griffin,  in  this  sketch,  a  very  intimate  knowledge  of 
Prentice  and  his  varying  moods  of  mind  can  be  formed."  Not  alone 
his  readiness  and  wit,  but  the  tenderness  and  poetry  of  his  nature  are 
brought  before  the  reader.  Considering  how  fugitive  is  the  fame  of 
even  the  greatest  of  the  journalistic  craft,  very  fortunate  has  George  D. 
Prentice  been  in  having  such  a  permanent  memorial  from  the  friend- 
ship, the  ability,  and  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Griffin. 

From  Paul  R.  Shlpman. 

This  interesting  volume  deserves  all  the  praise  it  has  received.  It 
is  characterized  by  deep  thought,  careful  research,  mature  judgment, 
and  rhetorical  grace  of  very  high  order.  Mr.  Griffin  calls  his  essays 
studies.  If  they  are  studies,  what  may  we  not  expect  from  his  mature 
performances!  The  world,  I  predict,  will  not  have  to  wait  long  to 
see. 

From  Henry  T.  Stanton. 

The  first  pages  in  this  valuable  book  are  devoted  to  a  sketch  of  the 
life  and  character  of  Mr.  Prentice,  and  a  highly  interesting  account  of 
his  death.  We  have  never  read  a  more  impressive  article.  While  it 
contains  every  elegance  requisite  to  finished  writing,  it  is  full  of  that 
irrepressible  feeling,  that  genuine  warmth  of  attachment,  for  which 
mere  words  are  no  medium  of  expression.  The  author  has  put  his 
heart  in  his  labor,  and  all  his  essays  appear  inspired. 

From  the  Louisville  Courier  Journal. 

Next  to  a  good  hater,  we  like  an  ardent  lover.  Nc  one  can  read 
the  sketch  of  Geo.  D.  Prentice's  life  in  the  revised  and  enlarged  edi- 
tion of  Mr.  Griffin's  Studies  in  Literature,  without  being  impressed  by 
the  warm  and  enthusiastic  tribute  to  that  remarkable  editor  and  man 
of  letters.  It  is  the  eulogy  of  a  friend  who  can  only  speak  of  what 
was  noble  and  wise.  2 


From 'the  Philadelphia  Post, 

Mr.  Griffin  is  an  easy  writer.  Some  of  his  criticisms  and  general 
essays  indicate  the  faithful  and  studious  course  of  reading  pursued. 
His  essay  on  Vathek  and  its  author  details  many  interesting  points  not 
known  to  the  general  reader.  A  Philological  Study  contains  much 
useful  information.  The  examples  taken  in  illustration,  prove  to  what 
an  extent  the  English  language  is  misused. 

From  the  Savannah,  Ga.,  Republican. 

Mr.  Griffin  is  a  conscientious  and  painstaking  writer.  The  intimacy 
which  existed  between  him  and  the  great  statesman,  journalist,  and  phi- 
losopher Prentice,  was  one  of  the  most  cordial  character,  and  the  writer 
of  this  note  can  vouch  for  the  fidelity  with  which  Mr.  Griffin  has  told 
the  story  of  the  great  man's  life,  and  presented  to  the  reader  a  pen- 
picture  of  the  closing  scene  of  a  great  career. 

From  the  Louisville  Commercial, 

The  new  revised  edition  of  G.  W.  Griffin's  Studies  in  Literature 
has  been  accepted  as  a  text-book  by  the  faculty  of"  Forest  Academy," 
and  will  hereafter  be  used  as  a  reading-book  for  the  advanced  scholars 
of  this  well-known  institution  of  learning. 

From  the  Detroit  Free  Press. 

The  most  noticeable  of  these  papers,  which  Mr.  Griffin  is  so  kind  as 
to  call  "studies,"  is  a  memoir  of  the  late  George  D.  Prentice,  of  the 
Louisville  "  Journal."  In  fact,  it  was  the  success  which  this  paper  met 
with  upon  its  first  publication  which  has  induced  the  writer  to  rewrite 
and  enlarge  it,  and  to  give  it  the  place  of  honor  in  the  second  edition. 
The  author  writes  with  a  gracefulness  of  diction  which  is  evidently 
the  result  of  long  practice. 

From  the  Boston  Literary  World. 

"Studies  in  Literature"  consists  of  a  collection  of  essays  on  literary, 
biographical,  and  dramatic  subjects,  generally  well  written,  and  evi- 
dently the  work  of  a  refined  and  cultivated  mind. 

From  the  Frankford  (Kentucky)  Yeoman, 

The  very  large  sale  of  the  first  edition  of  this  tasteful,  valuable,  and 
substantial  contribution  to  American  literature,  by  a  gifted  Kentuckian, 
was  not  unanticipated  by  Mr.  Griffin's  immediate  friends,  and  fully 
justifies  the  warm  greeting  and  cordial  recognition  accorded  it  by  the 
"  Yeoman  "  upon  its  first  appearance. 

From  the  Louisville  Jeffersonlan  Democrat, 

The  book  is  the  product  of  careful  research  and  mature  thought. 
It  compares  most  favorably  in  these  respects  with  the  best  literature 
of  this  country.  3 


From  the  Louisville  Evening  Sun, 

From  early  boyhood  Mr.  Griffin  has  been  an  enthusiastic  philomath 
He  is  a  "  book-worm."  He  has  been  a  contributor  to  the  daily  and 
weekly  press  of  Louisville  for  years,  and  has  won  for  himself  an  envi- 
able reputation  as  a  polisher  of  sentences,  as  well  as  for  his  deep  re- 
search and  thorough  knowledge  of  the  most  intricate  and  literary 
subjects. 

From  the  Toledo  American. 

It  is  certainly  to  the  credit  of  "  Studies  in  Literature,"  by  G.  W. 
Griffin,  that  such  a  publishing  house  as  that  of  Claxton,  Remsen,  & 
Haffelfinger  find  it  worth  their  while  to  issue  a  second  edition. 

From  the  Sunday  Herald, 

The  writer  shows  that  he  is  no  novice  in  the  field  of  criticism,  and 
his  work  fully  justifies  the  success  which  has  compelled  the  publishers 
to  bring  out  this  second  edition. 

From  the  Louisville  Ledger. 

The  present  edition  of  "Studies  in  Literature"  is  handsomely  gotten 
up,  as  regards  typography,  paper,  and  binding,  and  is,  on  the  whole, 
vastly  superior  to  the  first.     The  work  has  been  stereotyped,  and  we 
shall  not  be  surprised  to  see  it  run  through  a  half  dozen  editions. 
From  the  Transatlantic  Magazine. 

Mr.  Griffin's  sketch  of  the  lamented  Prentice  will  be  read  with  inter- 
est and  satisfaction  by  the  numerous  admirers  of  that  rarely  gifted  man. 
Philadelphians  will  read  with  pleasure  this  author's  able,  impartial, 
and  very  laudatory  review  of  Dr.  R.  Shelton  MacKenzie's  "  Life  of 

Dickens." 

From  the  Washington  Capital. 

The  author  of  this  handsome  volume  has  embodied  the  results  of  his 
tastes  and  readings  in  literature  in  a  very  agreeable  and  satisfactory 
manner  on  a  variety  of  interesting  topics.  The  leading  chapter  in  the 
book,  however,  is  perhaps  the  most  valuable,  because  it  gives  us  an 
insight  into  the  life  and  character  and  the  editorial  career  of  George  D. 
Prentice,  who  was,  during  his  latter  years,  an  intimate  personal  friend 
of  the  author.  Mr.  Griffin  devotes  nearly  a  hundred  pages  to  his  remi- 
niscences of,  and  the  literary  and  journalistic  history  of  Mr.  Prentice. 


CLAXTON,  EEMSEN  &  HAITELriNGEB 

ALSO  PUBLISH 

Prenticeana ;  or,  Wit  and  Humor  in  Paragraphs.  By 
GEORGE  D.  PRENTICE.  New  Edition,  with  Biographical  Sketch 
of  the  Author,  Ijy  G.  W.  Griffin,  U.  S.  Consul  at  Copenhagen,  author 
of  "  Studies  in  Literature."  121110.  Cloth.  $1.50.  4 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LQ6 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


MAY  1 1  1950 


SEP101D90 


OUE  2  WKS  FROM  DA 


REC'D  LD-URl 

*  V* 


E  RECEIVE! 


FormL.9 — 15m-10,'48(B1039)444 


"riff in- 


T5G8     lleiaoir  of  Col, 
Chas.   S.  Todd» 


L  006  060  974  0 


'*'      MftV 


KG 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     001  160353     7 


